Fifteen players in the Cubs’ system have been granted free agency.
Josh Vitters headlines the Cubs list of minor leaguers that have been granted free agency and are able to sign with another organization. The Cubs outrighted Josh Vitters off the 40-man roster on Oct. 31 and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa.
The Cubs selected Vitters with the third overall pick in the 2007 draft and passed on Matt Wieters to take who was considered to have the best high school bat in the draft. Injuries and maturity issues slowed Vitters development and kept him from reaching his potential.
Josh Vitters could benefit from signing with another organization and getting a fresh start, if he is ready to get out of his own way. Vitters put together his best season at the plate in 2012 before he was promoted to the big leagues. In 110 games with Triple-A Iowa that season, Vitters batted .304/.356/.513 with 32 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs and a .869 OPS.
Over parts of eight minor league seasons in the Cubs system, Josh Vitters finished with a .272/.320/.437 line that includes 146 doubles, nine triples, 80 home runs and a .757 OPS.
The other notables that were granted minor league free agency include Marcus Hatley, Chris Valaika and Manny Ramirez.
Cubs Minor League Free Agents
- RHP Alberto Cabrera
- RHP Lendy Castillo
- RHP Eduardo Figueroa
- RHP Marcus Hatley
- RHP Marcos Mateo
- RHP Carlos Pimentel
- RHP Dae-Eun Rhee
- C Charles Cutler
- C Nathan Maldonado
- 1B Lars Anderson
- 2B Edgar Gonzalez
- INF/OF Jonathan Mota
- INF/OF Chris Valaika
- OF/INF Josh Vitters
- OF Manny Ramirez
The Cubs can re-sign any of the 15 players, including Manny Ramirez. Theo Epstein said last month Ramirez considers the Cubs his organization now. If Ramirez inks another minor league contract in the hopes of turning it into a Major League deal, the Cubs should be his first option. Epstein is on record saying Ramirez would not be considered for a big league job with the Cubs.
