Cubs Select 2B Hayden Cantrelle, Lose 4 Others in MiLB Portion of Rule 5 Draft

The Cubs did not select any players in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, nor did they lose any, but they plucked 25-year-old second baseman Hayden Cantrelle in the minor league portion. Originally drafted by the Brewers in the fifth round of the 2020 draft, Cantrelle made it to Double-A the following season despite some offensive struggles.

He was traded to the Marlins in April of 2022 and got 110 plate appearances at Double-A Pensacola before being shipped to the Giants in late May. Injuries limited him that season and he spent time at the three lowest levels of San Francisco’s system, putting together just 210 more PAs. He spent all of 2023 with Double-A Richmond, where he was again limited by injury and had only 357 PAs.

In all, Cantrelle has posted a .206 average with 17 homers and a .724 OPS over parts of three seasons with three different organizations. He’ll provide a little depth since second baseman Andy Weber and shortstop Levi Jordan were selected away by the Diamondbacks and Reds, respectively, but I don’t know enough about Cantrelle to add much more than that.

The Cubs also lost lefty Adam Laskey to the Marlins and righty Sheldon Reed to the Twins. Laskey will turn 26 in March and pitched for both High-A South Bend and Double-A Tennessee last season while the 26-year-old Reed was in South Bend all year. Weber, also 26, spent the ’23 season at Tennessee and Jordan, 28, split time between Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa.