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SURPRISE, AZ: Pedro Ramirez of the Chicago Cubs is about to shatter his bat during a Spring Training game against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium on Feb. 23, 2026. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)
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Pedro Ramirez turned 22 on April Fool’s Day, but he’s no joke. The Chicago Cubs’ prospect is a talented switch-hitting infielder with a bright future.
Whether that future is in Chicago is a question he hopes soon finds an answer.
The Cubs signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract in January. They gave second baseman Nico Hoerner a six-year, $141 million contract extension in March.
Ramirez plays third base and second. He was signed for just $75,000 at age 16 as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2021. That’s a paltry sum in comparison. So he is at Triple-A Iowa, hitting .311 with 4 homers in 11 games as an insurance policy awaiting a call.
Manager Craig Counsell pretty much told him his fate in February. He explained to Patrick Brown of MLB.com: “We told him, ‘Your job is to make us say, after this camp, yeah, when something happens, we can call on you.’ "
Ramirez didn’t sulk. He hit .367 (11-for-30) with 2 homers, 12 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 15 Spring Training games.
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MADISON, AL: Pedro Ramirez of the Knoxville Smokies throws to first base for an out against the Rocket City Trash Pandas at Toyota Field on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Jacob McCune/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
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“I think we’re trying to expand a little bit of his value defensively, because I think as you break into the big leagues, sometimes you’re not just going to be handed a position," Counsell explained. "You’re probably going to have to move around, and where the opportunity happens is where you get to play, but the fact that he’s got that (a minor-league gold glove) attached to him means he should be able to handle new positions.”
Ramirez won the gold glove at Double-A Knoxville last season. He had eight errors in 384 chances, playing 59 games at second and 68 at third.
What he really does well is hit. In 463 games in the minors, he has a .292 average. He has finished in his league’s top 10 in hitting in all five of his pro seasons.
Teams like guys that can hit. They find a way to get them into a lineup somewhere. So with second and third taken, what are Ramirez’s chances elsewhere in the infield?
A Crowd Of Cubs
Ramirez has never played shortstop and Dansby Swanson is there anyway on a seven-year, $177 million deal signed before the 2023 season. Behind him is Jefferson Rojas, ranked as Chicago’s No. 5 prospect overall by MLB.com, four spots ahead of Ramirez.
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SURPRISE, AZ: Jefferson Rojas of the Chicago Cubs reacts after hitting a home run in a Spring Training game against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium on Feb. 23, 2026. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)
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How about first base? Ramirez has never played there, either. Michael Busch crashed 34 homers there a year ago and is not eligible to become a free agent until 2030. Behind him is Jonathon Long, 24, the Cubs’ No. 7 prospect.
Long and No. 10 prospect James Triantos, 23, another second baseman, are both hitting .326 at Iowa. Rojas, who turns 21 on April 25, is hitting .348 at Knoxville.
Ramirez Like … Ramirez?
At 5-foot-9, 165 pounds and with 28 steals and 8 homers a year ago, Ramirez’s numbers are strikingly similar to another switch-hitting Ramirez who bounced around minor-league infields.
In 2013, a guy named Ramirez also listed at 5-9, 165, hit .272 with 3 homers and 38 steals as a switch-hitting infielder at Double-A Akron. Jose Ramirez made his MLB debut late that year, bulked up to 190 pounds by 2016 and has been an all-star in seven of the last nine seasons.
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CLEVELAND: Third baseman Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians was a slender rookie making this play against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on Sept. 9, 2013. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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Since 2017, Cleveland’s Ramirez has averaged .280, 34 homers, 105 RBI and 31 steals. He’s found a home at third after playing second, short and left field.
That’s not to say that Pedro Ramirez is going to become a player the caliber of Jose Ramirez. It is to point out there are similarities and that years ago even Jose Ramirez did not appear to be the type player that Jose Ramirez became.
As 1980s St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar once said clumsily but accurately, “In America, one word says it all: You never know.”
Chicago Cubs’ Future Plans
The organization did not dole out those big contracts just for fun. Their goal in 2026 is to at least win the NL Central and make a deep run in the playoffs.
Yet injuries have already hit. Slugging outfielder Seiya Suzuki has been rehabbing a knee injury sustained in mid-March. He’s due to return tomorrow.
That’s the good news.
Two of their starting pitchers are out. Matthew Boyd went on the 15-day IL with a strained left biceps tendon. Cade Horton is out for the season, due to have Tommy John surgery after leaving a start in Cleveland last Friday.
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CLEVELAND: Cade Horton of the Chicago Cubs exits the game after being injured during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 3, 2026. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
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Former all-star Justin Steele is still rehabbing from elbow surgery in April 2025. Relievers Porter Hodges and Jordan Wicks remain out since mid-March with aching elbows.
General Manager Carter Hawkins is reluctant to tap into the treasure trove of prospects – for now. He said the short-term plan is to call up pitchers in the system and see what happens.
The Cubs began play today last in the division at 6-6, two games behind the leading Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, each at 8-4.
In other words, it’s too early to panic and maybe make the wrong decision.
“In April, it’s difficult to make moves like that,” Hawkins told reporters. “But at the same time, we’ll obviously keep our lines in the water. You never know what opportunities might come up. But right now, I would focus on the guys internally.”
The Cubs at least have options. Their undesirable dilemma is deciding who to keep, who to trade and who to bring in. The organization has a backlog of outfield prospects such as Kevin Alcantara in addition to all the young infielders.
What the Chicago Cubs do not want to do is make a hasty and wrong move. That could make them the butt of an April Fool’s or later in the season joke.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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