Just a couple of weeks ago, Jed Hoyer poked fun at the number of outfielders on his 40-man roster. 

“We need three?” Hoyer joked back on Dec. 10 when asked about the only 2 outfielders — Ian Happ and Jason Heyward — on the roster. “Certainly we’re aware of our numbers. But we’re certainly going to be looking at outfielders as we round out the roster.”

While the offseason is still fairly young, he snatched up a third outfielder on Tuesday, when the Cubs claimed Phillip Ervin off waivers from Seattle. Ervin spent the second half of 2020 with the Mariners after being drafted and coming up with the Reds. 

He has a career slash line of .247/.322/.406 with 17 home runs and 68 RBI in 660 career plate appearances. Ervin has succeeded against lefties in his career, amassing a .277/.352/.459 slash line (.811 OPS).

In his time with the Reds he has historically mashed Cubs pitching, hitting .316/.368/.532 (.899 OPS) in 87 career plate appearances. He has 3 home runs, 10 RBI and an .872 OPS at Wrigley Field.

Ervin, 28, has 4 years of club control left. The Cubs 40-man roster sits at 37.