After speculation he may be leaving, Cubs re-sign Michael Hermosillo to major league contract

One day after the website Bleacher Nation speculated Chicago Cubs outfielder and Ottawa High School graduate/two-time The Times Baseball Player of the Year Michael Hermosillo looked likely to be hitting the open market after not being tendered by the Cubs, the team announced Wednesday night it has agreed to terms to bring back the outfielder.

“The #Cubs today agreed to terms on a one-year major league contract with OF Michael Hermosillo,” the tweet read, accompanied by a photo of Hermosillo in the batter’s box last season at Wrigley Field.

Hermosillo on Tuesday morning — with Tuesday night the deadline for clubs to tender offers to pre-arbitration players — tweeted, “Given the chance, I know what I can do” with a hands praying emoji.

Details of the contract have not yet been released.

With the major league contract signed, Hermosillo is one of 39 players currently on the Cubs’ 40-man roster.

Last season with the Cubs, Hermosillo — originally selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2013 MLB Draft and a member of the Angels organization until becoming a free agent and signing with his boyhood favorite team, the Cubs, following the 2020 season — played in 16 major league games, batting .194 over 36 at-bats with three home runs before seeing his season ended by a forearm injury. Prior to that, Hermosillo made a name for himself at the Triple-A level, playing 43 games for Des Moines and batting .306 with 21 extra-base hits, 10 of those home runs, and 29 RBIs.

Hermosillo’s previous contract with the Cubs was a minor league deal.