Winning a World Series is the peak of most players' careers, but for outfielder Chas McCormick, the drop-off has been steeper than most.
Less than four years ago, McCormick was the proverbial World Series hero for the Houston Astros. His game-saving catch in the ninth inning of Game 5 against the Philadelphia Phillies may have been the single most impactful play of the series. He then came back and had a career year in 2023, posting a 130 OPS+ and 3.4 bWAR in just 115 games.
McCormick's next two seasons with the Astros were disastrous, however, leading to him becoming an offseason roster casualty. He signed with the Chicago Cubs before spring training, but that tenure didn't last long.
On Friday, the Triple-A Iowa Cubs released McCormick, according to the official transactions log. The 31-year-old was in the middle of a decent campaign at the Triple-A level, which creates a few possibilities about how the release came about.
Many major league veterans have built-in opt-outs in their minor-league deals before the season, which means they can enter free agency if they reach a certain date without having been called up to the big leagues. Baseball Now was unable to confirm whether that happened in McCormick's case, or whether the release was due to something else entirely.
In 52 games with Iowa, McCormick slashed .255/.349/.452 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs. He stole only two bases, so his odds of making an impact with his speed at the major league level are minimal. But to be fair to McCormick, the odds of returning to the majors were always going to be higher elsewhere than on a team like the Cubs, who have one of the most stacked outfields in the sport.
Will we see McCormick back in the majors this year? The five-year veteran's career is definitely hanging in the balance these days.
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