40 Man Roster Updates

The Cubs have shuffled their 40 man roster with an eye towards next month’s Rule 5 draft. Gone from the roster are struggling right hander Esmailin Caridad, AAAA outfield Lou Montenez, and right hander Kyle Smit, who is coming off a disappointing season.

Added to the 40 man roster and protected from the Rule 5 draft are Matt Szczur, Junior Lake, Josh Vitters, and Jeff Beliveau. You may recall that I mentioned all of these players in my list of prospects the Cubs must protect a few weeks ago. Also on that list, but not on the 40 man roster, were Ryan Flaherty, Jeffry Antigua, and Dae-Eun Rhee. Rhee and Antigua may be safe in the draft due to how deep in the minors they are, but I would feel safer with those two on the 40 man. The omission of Flaherty is an interesting choice.

The Cubs 40 man roster now stands at a surprising 34. Between that absurdly low figure and the lack of protection for Flaherty, I am starting to think there is a piece of this puzzle that we are not seeing.

We’ll have more on the Cubs 40 man roster moves and the status of the team heading into the Rule 5 Draft in the next few days.