Cubs move on from a pair of veteran role players | Chicago Cubs News

The Cubs cleared room on their 40-man roster on Friday night — and parted ways with a pair of intriguing players in doing so.

The team non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman and infielder Nick Madrigal ahead of Friday’s tender deadline, with the two becoming free agents.

The team came to terms with catcher Matt Thaiss and pitchers Keegan Thompson and Julian Merryweather on 2025 contracts. Additionally, the team tendered contracts to Justin Steele, Isaac Paredes, Nate Pearson and Eli Morgan. The Cubs have 38 players on their 40-man roster.

Parting ways with Tauchman comes as a bit of a surprise — the 33-year-old was a solid performer for the Cubs over the last two years. In 2023, Tauchman hit .252 with a .739 OPS and posted a 1.7 fWAR while playing in 108 games.

This season, the Palatine native posted similar numbers — .248/.357/.366 (.723 OPS) in 109 games. But he saw his playing time reduced down the stretch in 2024. Tauchman primarily served as a bench bat, making just 7 starts over the final two months of the season. He was projected to make $2.9 million next season in arbitration. That, coupled with the clear lack of playing time, made the decision to part ways with Tauchman simpler.

The Cubs outfield picture is crowded, especially after Cody Bellinger’s decision to return in 2025. Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki return in 2025. Outfield prospect Alexander Canario is out of options and would have to pass through waivers before being sent to the minor leagues, meaning the Cubs could carry 5 outfielders on their Opening Day roster in 2025.

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Madrigal, the 4th-overall pick in the 2018 draft, has had an injury-plagued career — especially in his time on the Northside of Chicago. Acquired along with reliever Codi Heuer from the White Sox for closer Craig Kimbrel in 2021, Madrigal played in 202 games across three seasons with the Cubs, never playing more than 92 games in a year.

He was the centerpiece of the deal for the All-Star closer, but he never really lived up to expectations. Known for his bat-to-ball skills, Madrigal hit .251 in 565 at-bats with the Cubs, with a .616 OPS. Madrigal’s best stretch with the Cubs came in 2023. He moved from second base to third base ahead of that season. After returning from the IL in June, he hit .328 over a 19-game stretch with an .875 OPS. But injury struck again, and he missed nearly all of July.

The 27-year-old was the Cubs Opening Day starter at third base in 2024, but eventually was relegated to a defensive replacement for Christopher Morel at the hot corner. He was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on June 2 and suffered a broken pinky finger in his first game with the I-Cubs, missing the rest of the campaign.

Madrigal’s path to playing time with the Cubs wasn’t clear — their infield was set with Isaac Paredes, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner (if he’s healthy) and Michael Busch. Their prospect depth is deep at the middle infield, too — Matt Shaw and James Triantos finished the year in Triple-A and could debut in the majors next season.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported the Cubs had agreed to terms with Merryweather on a $1.225 million deal for next year. Steele, Paredes, Pearson and Morgan are all arbitration-eligible this offseason.

The Cubs made a series of roster moves earlier in the week, too. They added prospects Owen Caissie and Ben Cowles to the 40-man roster and traded for Morgan and Thaiss in separate deals with the Guardians and Angels, respectively. The team designated Patrick Wisdom for assignment to make room for Morgan.