The Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent outfielder Dylan Carlson, as first reported by Greg Zumach. The ALIGND Sports client receives a non-roster invitation to major league spring training, where he’ll compete for a bench job.
Carlson is the second veteran outfielder to sign a minor league deal with the Cubs in the past week. Former Astros outfielder Chas McCormick also received an NRI from Chicago and will be in the mix for a bench spot.
The 27-year-old Carlson was the No. 33 overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Cubs’ archrivals in St. Louis. He ranked as one of the ten best prospects in the sport prior to his big league debut and had a nice showing in his first full season back in 2021 (.266/.343/.437, 18 homers) but has seen his bat stall out since. Carlson was a league-average hitter in 2022, but in three subsequent big league seasons has mustered only a .210/.294/.314 batting line in 761 trips to the plate between the Cardinals, Rays and Orioles. He’s dealt with shoulder, ankle, hamstring, thumb and wrist injuries along the way. The ankle injury, suffered in 2023, required season-ending surgery.
Carlson, a switch-hitter, had an uncharacteristically poor showing against left-handed pitching last year, but that came in a small sample with Baltimore. He’s been good against lefties throughout his career, hitting them at a .274/.347/.410 clip in 566 plate appearances. His left-handed swing and approach haven’t been nearly as refined; in 1421 turns at the plate versus right-handed pitching, he’s a .217/.298/.356 hitter.
The versatile Carlson can handle any of the three outfield spots, though his defensive grades in center field have slipped in small samples over the past couple seasons. Statcast graded his sprint speed comfortably above average earlier in his career, but Carlson was closer to the mean in 2025, sitting in the 56th percentile of big leaguers in that regard. He typically shows plus arm strength, based on the velocity of his throws from the outfield, but was closer to average in that regard this past season as well.
Carlson may not have developed into the star the Cardinals hoped, or even a quality regular, but if he can get back on track against left-handed pitching and play solid defense across the three outfield spots, he’s a fine fourth outfielder. Chicago’s outfield is set with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki lining up from left to right, but Crow-Armstrong hit only .188/.217/.376 against lefties this past season.
If the Cubs want to give Crow-Armstrong some breaks against tough southpaws or even move to more of a platoon system, Carlson’s skill set could lend itself well to a complementary role, though the same could be said for fellow NRI McCormick. Waiver claim Justin Dean and prospect Kevin Alcantara are both on the 40-man roster as well. Both hit from the right side of the plate and can handle all three outfield spots.