CHICAGO – The Cubs added three players to their 40-man roster on Tuesday night, removing the group of prospects from the pool of players up for grabs in next month’s Rule 5 Draft.
Infielders Pedro Ramirez (No. 8 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Prospects list for the Cubs) and James Triantos (No. 10) had their contracts selected, along with Minor League left-hander Riley Martin. Combined with lefty Shota Imanaga’s decision to accept Chicago’s one-year qualifying offer on Tuesday, the Cubs’ roster stands at 32 players.
The annual Rule 5 Draft is set for Dec. 10 at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla. Players signed at age 18 or younger have to be added to a team’s 40-man roster within five seasons, and players signed at 19 or older must be added within four seasons, or else they become eligible for selection by another organization.
Teams have to pay a $100,000 fee to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, and the player is required to remain on the 26-man roster for the full season. If the selecting team wants to remove him from the roster, the player must first be offered back to his former team for $50,000.
Added to the roster
• The Cubs selected Ramirez’s contract from Double-A Knoxville, where he hit .280 with eight homers, 21 doubles, four triples, 73 RBIs, 28 steals and a .732 OPS in 129 games in 2025. The 21-year-old switch-hitter spent last season moving between second and third base, offering versatility, speed and strong contact ability.
• Picked in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, the 22-year-old Triantos rose to Pipeline’s Top 100 list prior to the 2025 season. He hit .300 with a .773 OPS in ‘24, but he slipped to a .259 average and a .685 OPS in 110 games this year, 102 of them at Triple-A Iowa. Triantos has played multiple infield and outfield positions, and he boasts plus speed and contact ability.
• The 27-year-old Martin was the Cubs’ sixth-round Draft pick in 2021 out of Quincy University in Illinois, and he has spent parts of the past three seasons in Triple-A. This year, the lefty turned a corner, logging a 2.69 ERA with 80 strikeouts against 35 walks in 63 2/3 innings over 47 games (46 in relief).
Notable omissions
Players on the Cubs’ Top 30 Prospects list who were left exposed for the Rule 5 Draft include right-hander Brandon Birdsell (No. 9), infielder Cristian Hernandez (No. 11), righty Grant Kipp (No. 19), righty Connor Noland (No. 22), lefty Drew Gray (No. 27) and righty Tyler Schlaffer (No. 30).
Birdsell would have been a lock had it not been for the right elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery in August. The righty was one of Chicago’s rising pitching prospects in 2024 and was on the Major League radar, but he was limited to 33 2/3 innings with Iowa in ‘25.
Hernandez received a $3 million signing bonus as part of the Cubs’ international class in 2021, but he has yet to climb above High-A South Bend. The 21-year-old stole 52 bases in ‘25, but he saw his OPS drop to .694 after a .755 showing the previous season.