Cubs Claim Justin Dean – MLB Trade Rumors

The Giants announced that outfielder Justin Dean has been claimed off waivers by the Cubs. San Francisco had designated him for assignment last week to open a roster spot for Tyler Mahle. Chicago had multiple 40-man vacancies and doesn’t need to make a corresponding move. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to relay the transaction.

Dean, 29, just made his major league debut with the Dodgers last year. He was mostly used as a pinch runner and late-game defensive replacement. He appeared in 18 games for the Dodgers but only made two plate appearances. He then appeared in 13 postseason games as part of the Dodgers’ World Series run, but without making a plate appearance in any of those.

His speed gives him a decent floor as a guy who can steal some bases and run the ball down on the grass. From 2021 to 2025, he swiped 176 bags in 213 attempts in the minors, an 82.6% success rate.

His offense is more questionable but his 2025 was encouraging. Throughout his minor league career, he has drawn free passes but also been punched out at hefty rates. From 2021 to 2024, he had a nice 12.2% walk rate but an ugly 29.6% strikeout rate. In 2025, he was only struck out 23.6% of the time while keeping his walk rate at a healthy 11.2%. The result was a .289/.378/.431 line and 110 wRC+ in Triple-A, though that was propped up by a .380 batting average on balls in play.

More to come.