Expected to compete for the fifth starter job in Spring Training, and, in the alternative, serve in the bullpen or as key rotation depth, this year has not gone well for Adrian Sampson.
Despite looking like a solid depth starter the last year+ with the Cubs, Sampson struggled badly with the long ball in Spring Training – usually you don’t worry TOO much about spring numbers, but it was truly alarming – and wound up going to Iowa to open the season. He struggled there, too, and then wound up having knee surgery.
Sampson, 31, returned from that surgery earlier this month, and unfortunately things haven’t gone much better. Overall, he’s got an 8.17 ERA at Triple-A Iowa over 8 appearances and 25.1 innings.
It’s no surprise then that the Cubs have opted to remove Sampson from the 40-man roster, after officially reinstating him from the 60-day IL, as first reported by Maddie Lee:
Cubs reinstated RHP Adrian Sampson from the 60-day IL, outrighted him to Triple-A Iowa.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) July 24, 2023
When a guy comes back from the 60-day IL, he requires a 40-man spot. So, this maneuver doesn’t change anything other than Sampson’s official status – he wasn’t on the 40-man before, because he was on the 60-day IL; he isn’t on the 40-man now, because he’s been outrighted.
Because Sampson has been outrighted before in his career, he now has the right to accept or reject this outright assignment to Iowa. If he accepts, he just stays where he has been pitching, albeit now on a minor league deal. If he rejects, he’s a free agent.
