The Chicago Cubs have signed a former first-round pick to add some talent to the roster.
Chicago signed outfielder Greg Jones to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa, according to the MLB transactions log.
Jones was selected in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. He signed with Tampa Bay for $3 million, but he never appeared in a game for Tampa Bay. He was traded to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Joe Rock. Jones made his MLB debut in 2024 with the Rockies, appearing in 6 games.
On March 26, 2025, he was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox from the Rockies and appeared in 3 games with Chicago. He was released in May before signing a minor-league deal with the Houston Astros, but didn’t reach the majors.
Jones then signed with the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason, as he appeared in 12 games, hitting .087 with 1 RBI. After being DFA’d, he elected free agency and has since signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs.
Jones will begin in Triple-A. But he does serve as some outfield depth for the Cubs if needed. And is a former first-round pick, so there is some talent there. He also adds some more speed to the roster if needed.
Cubs Likely to Add Pitching
Chicago is expected to be active ahead of the trade deadline, and the Cubs are likely to add some pitching help.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said the team can always use more pitching help.
“You can’t have enough pitching,” Hoyer said. “This first half has proven that. We thought we went in with real depth and we got to the end of our depth, and I had to trade for guys and pick up guys. So the hope of guys coming back off the injured list, I don’t think it’s going to temper our need.”
Hoyer, meanwhile, said the Cubs are also hopeful to catch the Milwaukee Brewers to win the NL Central.
“You have to go into the Deadline thinking about it analytically,” Hoyer said. “You have to think about, ‘OK, getting a bye is effectively winning a series and weakening your opponent in the next series.’ That’s a really big deal. If the odds say that you can do that, that’s a different equation than if not. You have to be aware of those things, and we certainly will.”
Chicago Signs Top Pick
The Cubs signed first-round pick Cade Townsend to a $3.1 million bonus.
Chicago selected the Ole Miss starter with the 23rd overall pick and were eager to land him.
“He’s always been talked about as one of the top arms in the class,” vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said. “When you have somebody that is that well-versed in sort of modern pitch design and has that general want to learn, to just optimize his own stuff, I think what that means to me is that player can be a good fit in our system. One of the things I probably said to Cade in our meeting was, ‘I’ve got to get you on the phone with our pitching guys. You guys are going to love each other.’”
Townsend, meanwhile, said the Cubs were the top team he wanted to be drafted to.
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