Matt

Szczur

Szczur closes the door on a five-year major-league career, which included stints with the Cubs and Padres. He finishes with a solid .231/.312/.355 batting line with 12 homers and seven steals across 667 plate appearances from 2014 to 2018. The 32-year-old outfielder was a fifth-round selection of the Cubs back in 2010 and a member of their 2016 World Series championship roster. He inked a minor-league deal with the Cardinals last year, but was released in late June.

Szczur inked a minor league deal back in February and posted just a .619 OPS at Triple-A Memphis. The 31-year-old hasn’t seen any action in the majors since 2018.

The 31-year-old hasn’t appeared in a big league game since the 2018 season. He had been a non-roster invitee to Phillies camp in 2020 before being released at the end of June. He did a nice job at Triple-A Reno in 2019, slashing .322/.390/.577 with eight homers and 28 RBI in 44 games. He’ll add outfield depth for the Cardinals.

Both Szczur and Drew Storen were non-roster invitees in Phillies’ camp but have now found themselves on the chopping block. Szczur didn’t see any time in the majors last season.

Szczur spent all of 2019 in the minors, batting .322/.390/.577 with eight homers in 47 games at Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks organization. He’ll compete for a bench job in spring training.

The 29-year-old spent the 2018 season in the Padres’ organization, slashing .187/.265/.267 in his 84 plate appearances at the big league level. He’ll attempt to crack the Opening Day roster as a reserve outfielder, but will most likely begin the year as minor league depth at Triple-A Reno.

Szczur appeared in 57 games with the Padres this season while batting just .187/.265/.267 in 84 plate appearances. The 29-year-old figures to get a spring training invite somewhere.

The Cubs also reassigned catcher Jason Jaramillo to minor league camp. Szczur has emerged as one of the Cubs’ most intriguing position prospects since giving up a career in football, batting .293/.335/.423 with 10 homers, 46 RBI, 24 stolen bases and a .758 OPS in 109 games last season between Class A Peoria and High-A Daytona. The 22-year-old center fielder was recently ranked as the game’s No. 64 prospect by Baseball America.

Szczur received a $1.5 million bonus from the Cubs earlier this year to to fully commit to baseball and forego a potential career in the NFL. The 22-year-old center fielder batted .293/.335/.423 with 10 homers, 46 RBI, 24 stolen bases and a .758 OPS over 480 plate appearances this season between Class A Peoria and High-A Daytona. He was recently named the organization’s No. 3 prospect by Baseball America.

Szczur batted .267/.360/.390 with four homers and 42 steals between High- and Double-A this season. The speedster really struggled upon his promotion to Double-A and will likely return there in 2013.