Dylan Carlson Makes Active Roster, Scott Kingery Could Join Him Barring External Addition

As Jordan Bastian reported on Bluesky, outfielder Dylan Carlson has been informed that he will break camp as a member of the Cubs’ 26-man roster. Carlson had looked like a strong possibility to make the roster after signing a minor league deal, and it became a foregone conclusion once the club announced that Kevin Alcantara had been optioned to Triple-A. In other roster news, Bastian noted that infielder Scott Kingery will travel with the team to Chicago.

Kingery’s roster status remains unknown, however, as the Cubs are still scouring the market to see if they can find a stronger option. The former top Phillies prospect has logged only 172 MLB plate appearances since 2019, and he’s posted a .145/.205/.239 slash with a 19 wRC+ in that time. He’s been markedly better over 58 Cactus League PAs, but his numbers have still been below average.

If the Cubs indeed choose to carry both players on the active roster, they’ll need to make two more spots on the 40-man. Placing Tyler Austin on the 60-day IL will clear one, then they’ll need to either move Justin Steele to the 60-day or designate someone — possibly Ben Cowles — for assignment. Either way, these could both be very temporary moves.

Seiya Suzuki is only expected to miss the first six games of the season, so his return could have Carlson looking for a new team. And since the front office is already looking for another castoff to replace Kingery, not to mention having several young infielders already on the roster, he doesn’t figure to last very long. We’ll have more once the roster is officially set.