Roster Moves Aplenty

Posted by Lionel on May 27, 2009.

Wow. I decided to check the Cubs website before the start of today's action just to review the standings after last night when I was blindsided by roster moves. Let's take a look at the 6 players affected. Off the 25 Man Aaron Miles-Miles was put on the 15 day D.L., retroactive all the way back to yesterday, with what's being called a right shoulder strain. I don't know if that's actually the case or if he has some mild discomfort and they convinced him he could use a 2 week vacation to get his head on straight and try to get his swing back. Neal Cotts-Cotts was sent back to AAA. Cotts has been the latest in the long line of relievers in Lou's doghouse, although Lou has given him every chance to work himself out on the mound. 3 earnies against the Pirates on Monday probably sealed the deal. Cotts had a 7.36 ERA and 9 walks in 11 innings. Bobby Scales-Scales was sent back to AAA, which was a bit odd given the fact that Miles was D.L.'d, but with the addition of Ryan Freel, the Cubs probably had a INF too many. Scales wild ride lasted 24 days, but after opening up his MLB career with a 7 game hitting streak, Scales was 1 for his last 17. Despite that, his .257 average put him 6th on the team, ahead of D.Lee, Soriano, Fontenot, Soto, Bradley, Miles, and Freel. On the 25 Man

Jake Fox-There isn't much to say about Jake Fox that hasn't already been said. I think Fox will take the potential loss of his minor league Triple Crown (which he was holding) for an upgrade to some new digs. Fox can play a little bit of everything. After being moved from catcher (because he was an all stick, no defense catcher) he's played mostly 1st and the corner OF spots, but they've even tried him out at 3rd this year. Mostly though, he's going to be a stick off the bench unless he gives the team a huge offensive spark.

Andres Blanco-Blanco was added to the 25 man after being added to the 40 man roster. Who, you might ask? Blanco is a 25 year old SS who signed as a minor league free agent after the '07 season and re-signed this offseason. He hit .285 in 298 AB's with Iowa last year and went 9 for 12 in the stolen base department. This year, he's off to a .314 start and despite hitting only 1 HR all of last year, he has 4 this year. With Miles out, the Cubs needed a backup SS so Blanco was added. Blanco actually has nearly 250 plate appearances in the Bigs, but all were with hapless Royal teams in the middle part of this decade.

Jason Waddell-Same deal with Waddell. Added to both the 25 and 40 man roster, and another who? guy. If Waddell stays up for 15 days or so, he'll celebrate his 28th birthday in Chicago (OK, so technically he'll be flying back from Houston after a day game, but you get the idea). Waddell was called up for his handedness, not surprisingly. The leftie has been far from dominant at Iowa, giving up 10 earned runs in 16 and 2/3 innings. However, he is the definition of a situational leftie...lefties are hitting just .205 off him, compared to righties hitting .346. He was a minor league free agent signing this offseason and his first appearance this year will be his first MLB appearance.

This moves the Cubs 40 man roster up two notches to 38. Chad Fox's career seems to be in jeopardy, so he'll be transferred to the 60 day D.L. if needed. Technically, they could also move ARam to the 60 day D.L. if the situation gets dire, but then would have to put someone on waivers when he returned. If you were wondering why the Cubs added Waddell instead of calling up a leftie already on the 40 man roster, it's because they don't have another one who wasn't already on the 25 man roster.

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