Cubs add Owen Caissie to 40-man roster as payoff to Yu Darvish trade is finally close

With Tuesday being the deadline for Major League Baseball teams to add eligible prospects to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, the Chicago Cubs opened up a spot on their roster earlier in the day when they designated Adbert Alzolay for assignment.

With Alzolay's DFA opening a spot on the Cubs' 40-man roster, the team, as expected, added fast-rising prospect Owen Caissie to their 40-man roster.

Caissie has proven to be the only salvageable prospect from the trade the Cubs made with the San Diego Padres following the 2020 season. The Cubs flipped starting pitcher Yu Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini to the Padres in exchange for veteran pitcher Zach Davies and a package of lottery-ticket prospects.

Caissie is the lottery ticket that has paid off for the Cubs. Entering the 2025 season, MLB Pipeline has Caissie as the organization's No. 2 prospect. With Triple-A Iowa last season, Caissie slashed .278/.375/.473/.848 with 19 home runs. There was some surprise when Caissie was not among the Cubs' September call-ups this past season as the decision was made to hold any promotions of the team's prospect due to a lack of available playing time.

Caissie figures to be at the center of the Cubs' plans this offseason.

The Cubs have a need for offense but a current logjam of outfielders on the Major League roster in Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, and Mike Tauchman. In an offseason where the Cubs are also looking for an impact bat, it would seem that the decision being debated is whether to trade a prospect like Caissie in order to address a different need at the Major League level and ensure the prospect has a runway to playing time at the Major League level with the organization. It's a decision that will ultimately determine what level of expectation there should be for the Cubs to be contenders next season.

In addition to the swapping of Caissie for Alzolay on the 40-man roster, the Cubs also swapped Ben Cowles and Brennen Davis on the roster.

Once the top prospect in the Cubs' organization, a crippling back injury ultimately led to multiple setbacks for Davis in recent seasons. Cowles, meanwhile, was acquired by Cubs in a Trade Deadline deal with the New York Yankees.