The Chicago Cubs announced this week that they had signed veteran outfielder Dylan Carlson to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp for Spring Training.

Baseball GMs have long memories, and so do fans, especially when it comes to players who played for rival teams.  Carlson was a top 10 prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020. His rookie campaign in 2021 was so special that he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. Carlson’s performance in centerfield in 2021 was so good that the Cardinals traded Harrison Bader, and, if rumor has it, Carlson was the sticking point in the Cardinals’ negotiations for Juan Soto before he was eventually traded to the San Diego Padres.

In 2021, switch-hitting Carlson hit .266/.343/.437 with a .780 OPS, 18 home runs, and 65 RBI. He posted a 111 wRC+ across 149 games, good for a 2.4 WAR. Unfortunately, Carlson’s Cardinal trajectory was not upward as he battled a sophomore slump and injuries in 2022. In 102 games in 2022, he put up a .236/.316/.380 with a .695 OPS, 8 home runs, and 42 RBI.

2023 turned out to be even worse for Carlson as he suffered an oblique injury and a season-ending ankle injury requiring surgery. He played in only 76 games, hitting .219/.318/.333 with five home runs and 27 RBI.

In a final insult to injury, Carlson was injured in a collision in the outfield in March 2024 as he tried to come back from the ankle injury in 2023.  He suffered a shoulder injury as well as hip and ankle injuries. After the shoulder injury, he did not regain his previous form and played in only 59 games for the Cardinals before being traded at the deadline to the Tampa Bay Rays. He played in 39 games for the Rays, and his combined stats for 2024 aren’t pretty: .209/.287/.277 with a .563 OPS, three home runs, and 25 RBI.

Carlson’s career has clearly been derailed by a combination of injuries and bad luck. In 2025, he signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles, spending 28 games in Norfolk, their AAA affiliate, where he hit .294/.421/.451 with an .872 OPS, three home runs, and 25 RBI. 

Carlson played all three outfield positions for the big club. In 2025, he played in 83 games with the Orioles, hitting .203/.278/.336 with a .614 OPS, six home runs, three stolen bases, and 20 RBI. He was non-tendered by the Orioles at the end of the season.

At 27, the Cubs believe Carlson still has plenty in the tank when healthy, and it was worth a minor league deal to find out.

Carlson has some stiff competition, however, for the fourth outfield spot. Kevin Alcantara, Justin Dean, and Chas McCormick will all be in camp vying for an outfield spot behind one of the best outfields in the league.