The Chicago Cubs have been the subject of much discussion this offseason due to their lack of aggressiveness, which has left them as the only Major League team without any additions to their roster.
That is, until catcher Brian Serven was claimed off waivers by the Cubs, who then formally announced that Serven was their first addition to their 40-man roster.
Even though it’s something, the unease about what Chicago hasn’t done this offseason is probably not going to go away.
In the 2016 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected Serven in the fifth round, but he was never regarded as one of their best prospects as, according to MLB Pipeline, he was unable to place in the team’s Top-30.
But he kept getting better through their farm system, and in 2022 he finally made his Major League debut.
In 62 games that season, he had a slash line of.203/.261/.332 with six home runs and sixteen RBI. Serven had a really tough year last year, playing in just 11 games and having trouble at the plate.
Serven was placed on waivers by the Cubs, who were able to acquire him after the Rockies signed Jacob Stallings to a deal this summer.
The 28-year-old was instantly added as the 38th player to Chicago’s 40-man roster. They didn’t need to shuffle anything else to accommodate him. In addition, Serven is their third addition to the catcher position this offseason after minor league contracts were inked by Joe Hudson and Jorge Alfaro.
Once more, this will not allay the fears that Cubs supporters harbour.
They haven’t made any significant moves as of yet in early January, but at least they have formally added a player to their Major League roster.
