Chicago Cubs add three to 40-man roster

On Monday, all Major League teams were required to add players who they did not want to lose in the Rule 5 Draft to their 40-man roster. Who did the Chicago Cubs add?

As all other 31 teams did on Monday afternoon/evening, the Chic

ago Cubs made the decision to add some key prospects to their 40-man roster in order to not lose them in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. According to the rule portion of MLB.com that states the Rule 5 Draft players who are eligible are, “Players who were signed when they were 19 or older and have played in professional baseball for four years are eligible, as are players who were signed at 18 and have played for five years”. As far as Cubs prospects, they have traded away practically everyone of importance in order to build that a team that can win now instead of 5-10 years down the line. Despite that, they still have some key prospects, who did they choose to protect?

The addition of David Bote on the 40-man roster is a rather odd one. The Cubs do not need infielders on their major league team, Addison Russell and Javier Baez are two mainstays. They also have super utility players in Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ who can play almost any position, including the two at the top of the diamond. So why include Bote on the 40-man roster? Maybe the Cubs have a trade or two up their sleeve and believe Bote can eventually provide them with some top-notch insurance if someone were to get hurt.

Originally drafted by the Cubs in the 18th round of the 2012 draft, Bote spent the first 4 years of his career in the minor organization. He has taken an unusual path, twice in the past 4 seasons he has started the year down in Low A Ball, only to find his season finishing in AAA. The Cubs decided to send Bote on the scenic route in 2017, as he spent most of the year with the Tennessee Smokies, the AA affiliate. He wound up averaging .272 with with 14 homers and 59 RBI’s, his best year to date.

Adbert Alzolay spent most of his 2017 season with the A team, only sneaking his way to AA ball late in the year. With the Tennessee Smokies, Alzolay went 0-3 with a 3.03 ERA. For a 22 year old out of Venezuela, those numbers are quite impressive. According to MLB.com’s prospect watch, Adbert is the Cubs 3rd ranked prospect, only behind Jose Albertos and fellow addition Oscar De La Cruz.

In 5 seasons in the Cubs organization, he has pitched to the tune of a 3.30 ERA in 382 innings pitched. Alzolay may still be a few years away from being a rotational piece, but if he continues to show promise, the Cubs may choose to call him up in September to help the bullpen.

First starting as a Shortstop in the Dominican Republic, the Cubs chose to sign the star prospect as a pitcher. Not only has he made the jump well as a pitcher, he has parlayed his great play into being the Cubs top prospect in their organization.

As a 22 year old, Oscar De La Cruz will likely skyrocket through the Cubs minor league system this season. He projects to start the season down in low A ball, and could likely even finish the season with the AAA team. Spending 2017 with Myrtle Beach, Oscar finished the year with a 3.46 ERA in 12 starts. With a fastball that reaches top speeds of 97, and a devastating curveball, he could become a thorn in batter’s sides for years to come.