The Cubs re-signed outfielder Dylan Carlson to a minor league contract after he was designated for assignment and elected free agency last week. The team never formally announced it, but Carlson’s deal is reflected on the MLB.com transaction log and he suited up for the team’s Triple-A Iowa club yesterday. Carlson is represented by ALIGND Sports.
Carlson, 27, went hitless in four plate appearances with the Cubs before being cut from the big league roster. He’d signed a minor league contract in free agency over the winter and made the club this spring (albeit at least in part due to an injury to right fielder Seiya Suzuki).
A former first-round pick who was once one of the sport’s top-10 overall prospects, the switch-hitting Carlson had a promising beginning to his career with the division-rival Cardinals. His MLB debut as a 21-year-old during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season wasn’t especially eye-catching, but Carlson played 149 games for St. Louis in 2021 and slashed .266/.343/.437 with 18 homers, 31 doubles, four triples, a pair of steals and a 9.2% walk rate. His 24.6% strikeout rate was a bit high, but it was a strong full-season debut for a player who was still just 22.
That form has never resurfaced. Carlson hit .236/.316/.380 the following season and has seen his bat decline further in subsequent years. Since that intriguing 2021 campaign, he’s totaled 1253 MLB plate appearances and posted an anemic .220/.302/.339 batting line — about 17% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. Along the way, he’s bounced from the Cardinals, to the Rays, to the Orioles and now the Cubs, seeing his role reduced at each stop.
Back with the Cubs now, Carlson will provide some depth in the upper minors. Chicago’s roster has been decimated by injury, but nearly all of the health problems for the Cubs have been on the pitching side of things. With Suzuki back in right field, the Cubs’ outfield includes him, Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Michael Conforto, Scott Kingery and Matt Shaw are all in the mix for occasional outfield reps as well.
Carlson could get another look in the event of an injury, but former top prospect Kevin Alcantara and waiver pickup Justin Dean are both already on the 40-man roster, potentially putting them ahead on the depth chart. Both Alcantara and Dean have fanned in more than 35% of their minor league plate appearances, but Alcantara has also ripped eight homers and is slugging north of .600.
