Sometimes, a 40-man roster assessment ought to be principally on the raw numbers. Other times, ancillary considerations play in. When a player fighting for a 40-man roster spot has ugly numbers, something in the background might sometimes be enough to save him. For my money, Cory Abbott is greatly benefitted, for now, by something that hasn’t happened yet.
Abbott was a Cubs second-round choice from Loyola Marymount in 2017. Alex Lange and Keegan Thompson have already debuted in MLB from that Cubs draft class along with Abbott. Abbott’s numbers for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs were less than appealing.