The cuts from Spring Training are going to come fast and furious with the shortened timeline, so although we are barely a week into Spring Training, the first batch of Cubs cuts have arrived.
All are expected:
Cubs roster moves today:
– Nelson Velázquez optioned to AAA
– Christopher Morel + Alexander Vizcaíno optioned to AA
– Alexander Canario optioned to A+
– Robert Gsellman NRI official— Ryan Herrera (@ryan_a_herrera) March 19, 2022
What you have there are guys who are on the 40-man roster – and thus in big league camp – but who never had a chance of making the 26-man Opening Day roster. So, they get optioned out immediately (colloquially: cut from camp). These are notable prospects for the Cubs, but they will need some more time in the minors before they are a real threat to make the big league team.
The levels to which they were optioned are not necessarily where they will start the season, by the way, though it does look to be roughly where each will land to open the season. A mild surprise that Christopher Morel would be back at Tennessee and Alexander Canario would be back at South Bend, but not necessarily a shock. We’ll see how that actually shakes out when Spring Training ends.
As for Robert Gsellman, he’s officially arrived, and he will have a shot at making the bullpen.