After the Cubs designated Dylan Carlson for assignment, the next step came quicklyâand confirmed how short his window really was.
The former first-round draft pick signed with the Chicago Cubs in January on a minor league contract. Now, only four months later, Carlson has made his decision. He will be a Cub no longer. The 27-year-old who was once rated as the top prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals system elected to become a free agent on Wednesday, five days after the Cubs designated him for assignment.
The switch-hitting outfielder appeared to be making the most of his opportunity after signing a minor league deal that would convert to a $2 million, one-year contract if he made the big league roster. He did exactly that, defying the odds to win a place on the 26-man roster and break camp with the Cubs out of spring training.
Seiya Suzukiâs return forced the Cubsâ hand, leaving Carlson without a path back onto the roster.
Carlson earned his spot with an impressive spring, raking 14 hits, including a home run and two doubles along with eight walks and 15 strikeouts in just 47 at-bats.
But once the regular season began, Carlson saw his opportunities extremely limited, coming to the plate just four times without a hit. He started only one game, in left field.
So the writing was on the wall for the Elk Grove, California, native when the Cubs activated Suzuki off the injured list, where last year’s 32-home run hitter had languished since the season began.
What comes next for Carlson now?
Reunion With Cubs Remains Possible
The Cubs DFA’d Carlson to make room on the roster for Suzuki. On Tuesday, Carlson cleared the waiver wire without getting a claim from any other team. At that point, the Cubs outrighted him to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. But in parts of seven seasons that Carlson has played in the major leagues, he has accumulated five years of service time.
That gives Carlson the right under MLB collective bargaining rules to reject the minor league assignment and try his luck as a free agent. That is what he did one day after the Cubs assigned him to Iowa.
So where does the once highly regarded prospect, the St. Louis Cardinals‘ 2016 first round draft pick, go from here? According to to Bleacher Nation analyst Brett Taylor, a reunion with the Cubs remains on the table for Carlson.
“Itâs conceivable that he could eventually sign a new deal with the Cubs, deciding he doesnât like his other options out there,” Taylor wrote on Wednesday. “More likely, heâll seek to latch onto an organization with a clear path toward a big league bench job or even regular playing time. That deal, if he reaches the big leagues, will be at the Major League minimum rate, and will save the Cubs the prorated portion (if he signed today, itâd be about $700,000 in savings off the 2026 payroll, for example).”
Carlson Still Possesses Big League Hitting Skills
In the course of 570 major league games, Carlson has put together a credible if not especially eye-catching OPS of .682 with 43 home runs.
“With his high baseball IQ, sound approach and promising blend of hitting ability and power, Carlson appears well on his way toward becoming an above-average regular, if not more,” an MLB Pipeline scouting report read in 2020.
In his first full season, 2021, Carlson got into 149 games with the Cardinals and posted a .780 OPS with 18 homers. He placed third in National League Rookie of the Year voting that year as well. But after playing in 128 games the following season, Carlson has not topped 96 in a season, as he has cycled through four teams, playing for the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in addition to the Cardinals and Cubs.
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