Chicago Cubs Officially Release Eric Hosmer

Once Eric Hosmer was designated for assignment, it was only a matter of formality that would see him eventually released by the Chicago Cubs. The DFA allows you seven days to trade or waive a guy before you would otherwise have to release him, if not eligible for an outright assignment to the minors. But with the veteran Hosmer, we knew it was coming.

Now it has. Hosmer has officially been released by the Cubs. The Cubs, you’ll recall, signed Hosmer to a big league minimum deal before the season began, with the Padres still on the hook for the bulk of his contract. If another team signs Hosmer from here and brings him to the big leagues, they’ll take over the prorated portion of the big league minimum that the Cubs are otherwise paying.

It’s hard to say for sure that it will happen, even though Hosmer costs so little and is just 33 years old. He hit a dreadful .234/.280/.330/68 wRC+ in his time with the Cubs, which came after a dreadful second half in 2022 (which came after five years of average). It’s possible that’ll be that for Hosmer.