Last week, even as the Cubs were signing outfielder Chas McCormick to a minor league deal, Dylan Carlson was spotted working out in Arizona with the team. Fair to wonder, then, whether the Cubs were also going to try to bring in Carlson on a minor league deal as additional depth/upside/bench competition.
Greg Zumach hears that, yes, Carlson is coming:
There was some ambiguity about whether the Cubs would sign Dylan Carlson with Chas McCormick and Justin Dean in the organization, but it’s my understanding Cubs are signing Carlson to an MiLB deal with a ST invite. He’s battled health issues, but could be a nice add if healthy. t.co/bAQZqJNieJ
— Greg Zumach (@IvyFutures) January 24, 2026Note that neither the Carlson deal nor the McCormick deal are on the official team transaction register, but (1) I trust the reports, and (2) it’s not at all uncommon for minor league deals to be reported long before they show up on the transactions page (usually backdated).
Even with McCormick in the mix as a depth/competition/reclamation play, Dylan Carlson makes plenty of sense for the Cubs. Prior to the McCormick signing and the Justin Dean waiver claim, the Iowa Cubs outfield consisted of Kevin Alcantara – if he wasn’t on the big league bench – and Parker Chavers, who is 27 and didn’t hit at all in his first go at the level. Yes, guys like Jonathon Long and James Triantos can move out there if needed, and a guy like Brett Bateman is probably getting the bump to Triple-A. But still, it wasn’t hard to look at the group and feel like (1) the emergency depth in case of multiple big league injuries was scary, and (2) the I-Cubs were lacking the ability to have veterans take certain spots at certain times so you weren’t constantly playing prospects somewhere other than where you want them developmentally.
All that said, it’s possible that neither Chas McCormick nor Dylan Carlson ultimately play an inning at Iowa – as veterans, they’ll have opt-outs in their contract for the end of Spring Training, and it would be up to them whether they want to report to Triple-A if they don’t make the big league roster. But that’s a tomorrow issue, because in the meantime, they are cover for Spring Training injuries and are getting a chance to turn it around in a new organization. Maybe one of them looks totally remade (and healthy) in March and the Cubs decide to carry him on the big league bench out of the gate. Then the whole opt-out thing doesn’t matter at all.
I just really like what the Cubs have done here with these two no-risk additions, which are about as good as this tier of move can get. Odds are still against either of them making a meaningful big league impact this season, but the Cubs are in a great spot to at least give them a spring chance.
More from what I wrote when the Dylan Carlson topic first came up:
Dylan Carlson, 27, was at one time a top prospect with the Cardinals and emerging young talent. And then, much like McCormick, the offensive production suddenly evaporated and hasn’t come back.
(via FanGraphs)Carlson, a switch-hitter, has generally been better against lefties in his career, and can credibly play every outfield spot. He makes a ton of sense for the Cubs on a minor league deal, competing for a bench job – or at least he more clearly did before the McCormick signing. Now, Carlson would be competing not only with Kevin Alcantara and Justin Dean, who are on the 40-man roster, but also with McCormick. The Cubs wouldn’t be carrying both out of Spring Training absent a rash of injuries.
… then again, as Michael and I discussed on the BN Cubs Podcast, and he underscored when writing about McCormick, the need here for the Cubs isn’t just for a 4th outfielder or a righty bench bat to compete with Tyler Austin. There’s also simply a need for more available outfield depth in the even there are injuries. We knew the Cubs needed at least two such outfielders before the Dean waiver claim, and maybe McCormick is it. But it really wouldn’t be crazy for the Cubs to also bring on someone like Carlson on a minor league deal.
That’s all theCubse true when you consider, like I wrote this morning, that with guys like McCormick and Carlson, the play isn’t exclusively about trying to luck into a 4th outfielder. It’s also a bit of a reclamation project with a guy who at one time pretty clearly had big-league-caliber offensive talent, but who fell off for some reason. Carlson is still young enough to theoretically turn things back around, and you never know what might happen if you get him in your org at the right time.
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