As the 2023-24 MLB offseason gets underway, teams are making early moves to create space on their respective 40-man rosters and the Chicago Cubs have already outrighted three players.
According to The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma, right-handed relief pitchers Jeremiah Estrada and Nick Burdi, along with left-handed hitter Jared Young have been removed from the team’s 40-man roster.
This does mean that the trio of players have already passed waivers, which means that none of the other 29 teams were willing to pick them up and add them to their 40-man rosters. The Cubs now have some time to work on minor league deals to retain these guys if they want to and I bet there is definitely some interest to keep them around as depth options in the minor leagues.
Jared Young was up with the Cubs a couple times during the 2023 season, getting his first shot to stick on the big-league roster during the summer. The 28-year-old gave the Cubs a quick boost in late June, going 4-for-9, with a homer, two triples, four runs batted in and three runs scored, but then Young struggled in July, leading to his demotion back down to Triple-A after being up in the majors for three weeks.
The Cubs called up Young late in the season, but he only played in three games in the final two weeks of the year. Still, Young can be a fine depth option to call up from Triple-A, with the ability to play the corner positions in the outfield and infield. Young ended the 2023 minor league season with a .995 OPS, slashing .310/.417/.577, in 90 games with the Iowa Cubs.
The Chicago Cubs were hoping that 25-year-old reliever Jeremiah Estrada would establish himself as a dependable option in the bullpen after showing some glimpses of dominance during his first MLB stint in 2022. Unfortunately, Estrada could not continue his previous year’s success and in 2023 he took a major step back by posting a 6.75 ERA in 12 appearances.
Estrada’s struggles didn’t go away at Triple-A, where he had a 5.97 ERA in 28.2 innings. The right-hander did have great strikeout numbers, but they did decline from his 2022 numbers, while his walk rate increased. During his breakout 2022 season, Estrada pitched at three different levels in the minor leagues and recorded an overall 1.30 ERA in 48.1 innings, while averaging more than 14 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Cubs acquired Nick Burdi during the minor league portion of last year’s Rule 5 draft. He has an incredible comeback story and made it back to the major leagues with the Cubs in 2023. However, Burdi suffered an arm injury and although he was able to get back on the mound later in the year on a rehab assignment down at Triple-A, Burdi did not return to the majors. He threw 100+mph and had a nasty slider, so if possible, the Cubs probably have the most interest in Burdi’s arm.
