Cubs Select Dylan Carlson, Reduce Spring Roster to 35

As expected, the Cubs have selected the contract of outfielder Dylan Carlson. The former Cardinal will be on the Opening Day roster, unlocking a $2 million salary in the process. He hasn’t batted higher than .220 since 2022 and hasn’t carried a league-average wRC+ since a year earlier, but he’s a switch-hitter who can play all three outfield spots. That’s key for a Cubs team that is currently without its starting right fielder.

Carlson is also just 27 years old, so he’s theoretically got another prime athletic year or three in the tank. The same can’t be said for 33-year-old Michael Conforto, though he has put up significantly better numbers than his new teammate over a much longer period of time. The Cubs also had 31-year-old Scott Kingery with them on the flight back to Chicago, and the plan is to roster him unless they find a better fit among the players who’ve recently opted out or been released.

The team officially moved Tyler Austin to the 60-day IL with a right knee injury to clear a spot for Carlson, and they’ll need to make two more corresponding moves to accommodate Conforto and Kingery. While I understand that these are largely break-in-case-of-emergency moves, I also feel like the best solution in case of said emergency would be to roll with a younger, more potential-laden option.

As much as I’d love for any and all of these veterans to wildly exceed expectations, I don’t see any lasting into the second half of the season. Heck, at least one of them will be gone as soon as Seiya Suzuki is activated from the IL. Even though I should know better than to bitch about the end of the bench, I can’t help but be at least mildly disappointed that a contender like the Cubs will head into the season with a much less dynamic set of backups than they otherwise could have.