Recently, the Cubs designated Jen-Ho Tseng for assignment. The DFA is a baseball construct along the lines of Schrödinger’s Transaction. He’s on the team, but he’s not. He can’t play or practice with the team. The team has about a week to trade, release, or send the player though the options process. It becomes a bit of a punchline for players who get routinely DFAd. The Cubs are about to run a string of players through the designation process. This is about prioritizing them.
The Cubs 40-man roster is currently at 40+3, with Kendall Graveman, Addison Russell, and Oscar De La Cruz each being exempted.