Cubs Add 3 Players To 40-Man Roster

(CBS) The Cubs have added three players to their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings in December.

Chicago on Monday purchased the contracts of Double-A right-hander Adbert Alzolay, Double-A infielder David Bote and Single-A right-hander Oscar De La Cruz. All three will be protected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Players who sign a contract with a team at 18 or younger and then play five seasons of professional baseball are eligible for other teams to grab in the Rule 5 Draft if they're not protected by being placed on the 40-man roster.

In another move, the Cubs assigned outfielder Jacob Hannamann to Triple-A Iowa after he cleared waivers.

Alzolay, 22, went 7-4 with a 2.99 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 108 strikeouts in 114 1/3 innings in 2017, finishing his season at Double-A.

"He just finished up his Arizona Fall League season, and he's the classic power guy that's going to be a starting pitcher throwing in the mid-90s with the ability to miss bats with multiple pitches," Cubs senior vice president of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod said recently. "So he's the one that took the biggest step forward this year."

Bote, 24, hit .272 with 14 homers and 59 RBIs in 127 games at Double-A Tennessee. He also had a .353 on-base percentage. He was selected in the 18th round of the 2012 draft and is a career .262 hitter in the minor leagues.

De La Cruz, 22, was 4-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 12 starts at Class-A Myrtle Beach last season. He has a career 2.83 ERA in the minor leagues.

The Cubs' 40-man roster now sits at 36 players.