Heading into Monday evening, the Cubs had a half dozen spots open on their 40-man roster. They could have used all six to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft or they could they could have released a couple guys in order to protect more. As it is, they could opted to protect only three in order to leave spots open for future free-agent signings as well.
While I didn’t know exactly what they’d do, I was pretty sure the Cubs would prioritize the protection of their pitching assets. Adbert Alzolay and Oscar de la Cruz in particular were locks to be added to the roster so as not to fall into enemy hands.