The Chicago Cubs have had a busy offseason, and their latest additions of relief pitcher Ryan Pressly and infielder Jon Berti are the latest to the team's 40-man roster.
The Chicago Cubs are finalizing a trade to acquire closer Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros, pending medical review, sources tell ESPN. Pressly will waive his no-trade clause to Chicago to facilitate the move, and Houston will send money to help cover his $14 million salary.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 26, 2025
Here's the issue, though: neither of those deals are technically official yet. The team has a full 40-man roster and will need to clear out at least two players in order to onboard Pressly and Berti.
If you're looking ahead, you can probably make that number three, since top prospect Matt Shaw is currently being listed as the team's expected starter at third base despite not yet being on the 40-man.
Naturally, that begs the question: who will the Cubs look to offload in the coming days? And is the roster crowding going to become a serious issue in the near future?
Cubs' 40-man roster cut candidates
There's already been a lot of turnover on the North Side of Chicago this offseason, with players like Cody Bellinger, Isaac Paredes, Adbert Alzolay, and others getting the boot while Kyle Tucker, Gage Workman, Cody Poteet, and others have been brought in to fill their shoes.
Given Pressly's status as the team's new nominal closer and Berti's designation as a versatile infielder, these are the players that are most likely to be DFA'd or traded by the Cubs in the coming days.
Vidal Bruján
The utility infielder was acquired from the Marlins in exchange for first baseman Matt Mervis, though Berti may render him superfluous. Bruján has stepped to the plate 550 times over the past four seasons, with five home runs and a .189/.261/.270 batting line. He has swiped 14 bags but he’s also been caught 13 times.
Benjamin Cowles
Acquired as part of the Mark Leiter Jr. trade with the New York Yankees at the 2024 trade deadline, Cowles' roster spot is safer than Bruján simply because he has multiple minor league options remaining, while the former Marlins infielder does not. Still, Cowles, 25 in February, has played all of three games above Double-A. The versatile infielder isn't a lock to stick around.
Gage Workman & Luis Vázquez
I'm lumping these two players together because it's unlikely the Cubs will let them go before Bruján and Cowles. Workman, primarily a third baseman, was the team's lone selection in the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, and must be offered back to the Detroit Tigers if the Cubs don't want to keep him. Vázquez, a gifted shortstop who has spent time at second and third base, is still a quality prospect that the Cubs surely don't want to surrender.
Matt Festa
Acquired from the Texas Rangers for cash in early January, Festa is a 31-year-old reliever with no options remaining who pitched to a 5.70 ERA in 23 2/3 innings in 2024. It's hard to imagine that he'll survive the next wave of roster cuts.
Gavin Hollowell
A 27-year-old righty with a 6.00 ERA in 42.0 big league innings, Hollowell is a waiver claim from August 2024 with just one option year remaining. If it weren't for Festa's lack of flexibility, he'd probably be the first pitcher on the 40-man chopping block.
Caleb Killian
Along with Alexander Canario, Killian was the prized return for Kris Bryant at the 2021 trade deadline. He's got incredibly nasty stuff and impressive velocity, but he's gotten multiple bites at the big league apple and hasn't been able to stick. His profile suggests he's got a future in the majors, but it might require a change of scenery to work
Rob Zastryzny, Cody Poteet, Jack Neely, & Others
I'm jumbling up the second wave of optionable relievers here. You can include Ethan Roberts and Nate Pearson here, too, if you'd like, but I think they're the safest of this bunch. Regardless, these pitchers have had enough success elsewhere to suggest that the Cubs would be wise to keep them around, and given that the team needs to clear three roster spots instead of ten, they should be safe for now.