A former top prospect, once highly touted, now seeks a revitalized career journey with the Cubs. Can he recapture his former glory?
The Chicago Cubs continue to bolster their outfield depth ahead of Spring Training.
After appearing in Cubs camp last Thursday, reports indicated that former St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Dylan Carlson was set to join the North Siders on a Minor-League deal. He was seen taking fly balls at the team’s Spring Training complex.
Well, the Cubs officially announced Monday that they have signed Carlson to a Minor League contract with an invite to Spring Training.
Carlson is the third outfielder Chicago has acquired recently. The team claimed Justin Dean off waivers from the San Francisco Giants two weeks ago and signed Chas McCormick to a Minor-League deal last week.
With the Cubs needing some outfield depth for 2026, taking a chance on Carlson makes a lot of sense.
He is a former top prospect who showed a ton of promise earlier in his career. He hit .266 with 18 home runs, 31 doubles, and 65 RBI across 149 games with the Cardinals in 2021. Those numbers helped him finish third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Even in 2022, Carlson posted solid all-around numbers. He hit eight home runs with 30 doubles and 42 RBI en route to a 1.8 WAR season. The switch-hitting outfielder also finished in the upper half of the league in Fielding Run Value for his play on defense.
Since those two seasons, though, Carlson hasn’t made much of an impact, largely due to injuries.
In 2023, Carlson played only 76 games due to an ankle injury suffered in mid-May. He returned a month later, but after straining his oblique in August, he opted for season-ending ankle surgery in September.
Then, in 2024, he missed the first 33 games of the season due to a shoulder injury sustained in Spring Training. That resulted in him getting off to a slow start and eventually traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline.
Things didn’t get much better for him last year, as he batted just .203 with six home runs, nine doubles, 20 RBI, and three stolen bases with the Baltimore Orioles. Those subpar numbers led to Carlson finishing with a -0.7 WAR.
There’s no doubt that Carlson hasn’t lived up to his prospect status. He was once ranked the 13th-best prospect on MLB Pipeline before the 2021 season.
But the Cubs will give him every opportunity to make the team’s Opening Day roster. He’ll likely be battling with Dean, McCormick, and Kevin Alcantara in Spring Training for the final outfield spot on Chicago’s bench.