At today’s deadline to tender contracts to players under team control but not yet signed for 2023, the Chicago Cubs agreed to two pre-tender contracts, non-tendered three players, and tendered everyone else.
The non-tenders: Alexander Vizcaino (so he’s finally off the 40-man), Rafael Ortega (not a huge surprise there), and Brailyn Marquez.
Yeah, that last one is going to catch some folks by surprise, but like I said this morning on him: we don’t know ANYTHING about the state of his shoulder, he has pitched so little the last few years (0.2 competitive innings since 2019), and you can’t just keep holding open a 40-man spot for a guy who can’t contribute at all. Hopefully the Cubs can retain him on a minor league deal, but again, who knows when he can even pitch again. Such a sad, bummer of a story.
The pre-tender agreements: Adrian Sampson and Rowan Wick. Usually you see those deals in situations where a guy is right there on the fence of a non-tender, and you say, hey, can we agree to a deal now rather than each deal with the uncertainty of what comes next? I am a bit surprised on Sampson, in that regard, because he seemed like a no-brainer to keep. Wick was definitely a close call, so we’ll see what the terms are when they come out.
As for every other arbitration-eligible player and pre-arbitration player, they’ve been tendered a contract.
After the moves, and the earlier Rylan Bannon waiver claim, the Cubs’ 40-man roster stands at 37.