This was almost certainly going to happen at some point in the offseason, the only question was whether the Cubs would wait for Friday’s non-tender deadline. As Jesse Rogers reported, the team is likely to DFA Adbert Alzolay in order to free up space on the 40-man for Owen Caissie and others. Tuesday is the deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft in December and it’s also when qualifying offer decisions are due, though that only affects the Cubs indirectly.
Well, I guess it’s direct if we’re talking about Max Fried or another potential target who turns down the QO and will thus cost the Cubs two draft picks and $1 million in international pool money.