Here’s how the Cubs’ current 40-man roster was constructed

The Cubs’ 40-man roster has had quite a bit of turnover since Jed Hoyer took over as President of Baseball Operations in November 2020. Beyond the big selloff in July 2021, Hoyer has spent quite a bit of time re-making the ballclub to match his own vision.

Whether that will work or not remains to be seen.

Here’s how each of the players on the current 40-man roster was acquired — actually, I’m listing 41 players here because the signing of Eric Hosmer has been reported, though not officially announced, and someone will have to be removed from the 40-man when that happens.

Draft (11)

Brennen Davis: Second round, 2018
Jeremiah Estrada: Sixth round, 2017
Ian Happ: First round (ninth overall), 2015
Nico Hoerner: First round (24th overall), 2018
Brandon Hughes: 16th round, 2017
Ryan Jensen: First round (27th overall), 2019
Ethan Roberts: Fourth round, 2018
Michael Rucker: 11th round, 2016
Justin Steele: Fifth round, 2014
Keegan Thompson: Third round, 2017
Nelson Velázquez: Fifth round, 2017

Trade (11)

Kevin Alcántara: From Yankees (with Alexander Vizcaino) for Anthony Rizzo, July 29, 2021
Ben Brown: From Phillies for David Robertson, August 2, 2022
Alexander Canario: From Giants (with Caleb Kilian) for Kris Bryant, July 30, 2021
Kyle Hendricks: From Rangers (with Christian Villanueva) for Ryan Dempster, July 31, 2012
Codi Heuer: From White Sox (with Nick Madrigal) for Craig Kimbrel, July 30, 2021
Caleb Kilian: From Giants (with Alexander Canario) for Kris Bryant, July 30, 2021
Nick Madrigal: From White Sox (with Codi Heuer) for Craig Kimbrel, July 30, 2021
Miles Mastrobuoni: From Rays for Alfredo Zárraga, November 15, 2022
Zach McKinstry: From Dodgers for Chris Martin, July 30, 2022
Hayden Wesneski: From Yankees for Scott Effross, August 1, 2022
Rowan Wick: From Padres for Jason Vosler, November 20, 2018

Free agency (13)

Tucker Barnhart: Signed December 29, 2022
Cody Bellinger: Signed December 14, 2022
Brad Boxberger: Signed December 15, 2022
Yan Gomes: Signed December 1, 2021
Eric Hosmer: Reported signed, not yet official
Mark Leiter Jr.: Signed December 15, 2021
Adrian Sampson: Signed May 31, 2022
Drew Smyly: Signed December 24, 2022
Marcus Stroman: Signed December 1, 2021
Seiya Suzuki: Signed March 18, 2022
Dansby Swanson: Signed December 21, 2022
Jameson Taillon: Signed December 19, 2022
Patrick Wisdom: Signed January 5, 2021

Notes: Mark Leiter Jr.’s signing date shows as being during MLB’s lockout last year. He was signed to a minor-league deal, which was permitted at that time.

Adrian Sampson, Drew Smyly and Patrick Wisdom all had previous stints with the Cubs prior to the date shown; only the most recent signing date is noted.

Other (6)

Javier Assad: Signed as amateur free agent July 27, 2015
Adbert Alzolay: Signed as amateur free agent November 28, 2012
Miguel Amaya: Signed as amateur free agent July 2, 2015
Anthony Kay: Claimed on waivers from Blue Jays December 23, 2022
Christopher Morel: Signed as amateur free agent August 23, 2015
Manuel Rodriguez: Purchased from Yucatan of Mexican League July 21, 2016

To sum up, there are still 18 players remaining on the 40-man roster who were acquired during the Theo Epstein regime: All 11 of the drafted players plus Hendricks, Assad, Alzolay, Amaya, Morel, Rodriguez and Wick.

So Hoyer has re-made over half of the 40-man roster in his two-plus years as President of Baseball Operations, primarily via trades and free agency.

As always, we await further developments.