Chicago Cubs Designate Fan Favorite for Assignment After Acquiring Reliever

After landing an impactful reliever, the Chicago Cubs have cleared a roster spot by designating one of their fan favorites for assignment.

Jul 29, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom (16) at bat in the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs did not wait to strike in the offseason this time around.

They made headlines on Wednesday when they traded for reliever Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians in a move that brought an impactful arm to their bullpen.

It was a much needed addition, giving the Cubs a cost controlled asset who is coming off the best performance of his career with an eye-catching 1.93 ERA across his 32 appearances that was only limited because of inflammation in his throwing arm.

At the time the deal was announced, it wasn't known who Chicago was giving up.

However, it's now been revealed that 2023 sixth-round pick, outfielder Alfonsin Rosario, is the player who has been dealt to the Guardians.

Ranked 21st in the Cubs' pipeline, the 20-year-old played his first full season of professional baseball at the Single-A level this past campaign, slashing .230/.344/.423 with 16 home runs, 38 extra-base hits and 73 RBI across his 109 games.

There's a chance Rosario could blossom into a future star if he continues to develop well.

His power numbers are already impressive for someone his age, and he combines that with good speed that produced 20 stolen bases and rangy defense in the field.

What could limit his potential is his aggressive nature at the plate that resulted in 147 strikeouts.

Chicago has a surplus of outfielders on their Major League roster and in their pipeline, so trading away someone like Rosario is not detrimental, especially since they landed a major upgrade in their bullpen by acquiring Morgan.

But, this move also came at a cost.

Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, the Cubs designated slugger Patrick Wisdom for assignment, likely ending his tenure with the team.

He burst onto the scene in 2021 when he bashed 28 homers and drove in 61 runs that earned him a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Wisdom became a fan favorite during the course of that season, hitting deep shots at a 7.5% clip across his 375 plate appearances, while also hitting the ball hard over half the time he connected.

That also turned into his detriment, though.

The slugger became a boom-or-bust hitter, going from a slash line of .231/.305/.518 that season down to .207/.298/.426 the following year.

While Wisdom was still hitting 20-plus home runs, his batting average continued to crumble.

This past season, the 33-year-old was only used in 75 games, producing the worst slash line of his career with a .171/.237/.392 mark and OPS+ that was 25 points below the league average.

For Chicago, this decision was an easy one to make.