The Chicago Cubs, much like most of Major League Baseball, opened up the back half of their schedule on Friday evening with a contest against the Minnesota Twins. Chicago lost 5-2 on Friday, and will look to even up the series against the Twins on Saturday afternoon.
During the Twins series, the Cubbies made their latest rounds of roster moves, and one of them included releasing an eight-year MLB veteran catcher and first baseman.
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Chicago Cubs Release Christian Bethancourt
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – MARCH 09: Christian Bethancourt #22 of Team Panama hits an RBI single against Team Colombia during the eighth inning at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on March 09, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Per his transactions tracker, the Chicago Cubs have released Christian Bethancourt from their organization. He hadn’t been designated for assignment or exercised an opt-out in his contract; it appears the Cubs just straight-up released him from the organization.
He had not appeared in a game with the Cubs this season and hasn’t made an MLB appearance since 2024.
Bethancourt, 34, has played in parts of eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Miami Marlins, Athletics, and Cubs.
Across 206 at-bats with the Iowa Cubs this season, Bethancourt has batted .262 with 11 home runs, 38 RBI, and an OPS of .775. He’s eligible to sign with any of the 30 MLB teams, and it will be interesting to see if a reunion is in store between Chicago and Bethancourt.
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Christian Bethancourt’s MLB Career
Christian Bethancourt has played in 427 total MLB games over eight seasons and tallied 1241 at-bats. Across that ample number of opportunities, he’s batted .229 with 35 home runs, 60 doubles, and a career OPS+ of 73.
He broke into the Bigs in 2013 with the Atlanta Braves and is from Panama. Bethancourt took a long hiatus from MLB from 2018 to 2021, but then returned to play with the Athletics and Rays in 2022.
His most recent MLB chance was actually with the Cubs in 2024, and Bethancourt batted .281 over 57 at-bats with three home runs and four doubles.
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