The deadline for teams to tender contracts to all players not under multi-year deals was tonight at 7 p.m. CT, moved up two days due to the impending lockout.
This is commonly known as the “non-tender deadline,” and two Cubs players were in fact not tendered contracts for the 2022 season, Jason Adam and Michael Hermosillo.
Adam had a horrifying ankle injury in May while at Triple-A Iowa for which he had to be rushed into surgery. He made a remarkable recovery and in three innings pitched in late September on being recalled, he faced 10 batters and struck out six of them.
Adam is 30 and had a good year for the Cubs in 2020 and some good years before that in Toronto. I imagine the Cubs will re-sign him to a minor-league deal (after the lockout, of course) and he’ll get a non-roster invite to spring training.
Hermosillo had some good games for the Cubs after hitting .306/.446/.592 in 43 games for Iowa in 2021, but the Cubs’ signing of Clint Frazier and trade for Harold Ramirez would appear to have made Hermosillo superfluous, at least on the 40-man roster. A Chicago-area native (Ottawa HS) who grew up a Cubs fan, I’d think he will also get a minor-league deal from the Cubs, also with a NRI to spring training.
There had been some question during the season about whether Ian Happ would be non-tendered, but a strong finish made the choice obvious, he’ll be back in 2022 (unless traded).
Officially per press release from the Cubs, these moves (and the waiver claim of Trevor Megill by the Twins) leave 35 players on the 40-man roster, but once the signings of Frazier and Yan Gomes are made official, that’ll make the total 37, for now.