(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Until the MLB lockout ends, the Chicago Cubs 40-man roster will not be adding any new veteran names. Much of the current roster has players with under six years of MLB service time. Regardless of how many additions the Cubs end up making when operations resume, it is safe to assume a sizable chunk of the next Cubs core will be made up of younger members of the current roster and future prospects in the system (not currently on the roster).
Why is this significant? Team control over potential long-term contributors. Like the previous core, key players will have their years of team control, being pre-arb or arbitration eligible, before the required service time is fulfilled to become unrestricted free agents.
Here is a look at what key players have remaining years of team control. This does not count veterans under free agent contracts or others who had contract extensions i.e. David Bote and Kyle Hendricks. This also excluded Willson Contreras considering 2022 is his final season of control. We will not cover every roster member, but potential key future pieces. All of these guys will have played at least 0.1 of an inning in the majors at some point.
Before breaking this down, it is worth noting that service time will likely be a major talking point in the CBA negotiations so it will be interesting to see what changes, if there are any significant changes. This is where things sit as of right now. Also, keep in mind that arbitration eligibility and service time are dependent on if the player plays the required time in upcoming MLB seasons. This is all assuming they do, and we really know all of them won’t.
Yes, it can get very complicated.