Cubs make several roster moves |
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs have exercised their 2020 club contract option on first baseman
Anthony Rizzo and selected the contract of right-handed pitcher
Colin Rea from Triple-A Iowa.
Additionally, the club has declined its 2020 contract options on right-handed pitchers Tony Barnette, Kendall Graveman, Brandon Morrow and David Phelps, while right-handed pitcher Allen Webster has been assigned outright to the Triple-A Iowa roster. Chicago’s 40-man roster now stands at 32 players. Rizzo, 30, batted .293 (150-for-512) with 29 doubles, 27 home runs and 94 RBI in 146 games last season. He posted career bests in batting average and on-base percentage (.405) while tallying his sixth-straight campaign with at least 25 home runs, only the second left-handed hitter in franchise history to turn the trick. Since joining the Cubs prior to the 2012 season, Rizzo is a three-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner, a Platinum Glove winner, a Silver Slugger Award winner, the 2017 Roberto Clemente Award winner and a 2016 World Series Champion. Rea, 29, went 14-4 with a 3.95 ERA (65 ER/148.0 IP) in 26 starts with Iowa in 2019, earning Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year honors in addition to mid-season and post-season PCL All-Star team nods. Rea, who signed a minor league deal with the Cubs last January, has pitched parts of two seasons in the majors with San Diego (2015-16) and Miami (2016), going 7-7 with a 4.69 ERA (70 ER/134.1 IP) in 26 career big league outings, all but one as a starter. Barnette, 35, made two relief appearances for the Cubs this season, posting no record and a 6.75 ERA (1 ER/1.1 IP). He is 11-4 with a 3.53 ERA (57 ER/145.1 IP) in 127 big league relief outings covering four seasons with Texas (2016-18) and the Cubs (2019). Graveman, 28, signed a one-year deal with a club option for 2020 last December and spent the 2019 campaign rehabbing from Tommy John surgery performed on July 30, 2018. He is 23-29 with three complete games, one shutout and a 4.38 ERA (217 ER/446.0 IP) in 83 career major league appearances, all but five as a starter, in all or parts of five seasons with Toronto (2014) and Oakland (2015-18). Morrow, 35, posted no record and 22 saves with a 1.47 ERA (5 ER/30.2 IP) in 35 relief appearances for the Cubs prior to the 2018 All-Star Break but has not pitched in the majors since then due to injury. He is 51-43 with 40 saves and a 3.96 ERA (378 ER/859.0 IP) in 334 big league outings (113 starts) in 12 seasons with Seattle (2007-09), Toronto (2010-14), San Diego (2015-16), the Dodgers (2017) and the Cubs (2018). Phelps, 33, went 2-1 with one save and a 3.18 ERA (6 ER/17.0 IP) in 24 relief appearances with the Cubs after being acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline. Overall, Phelps is 32-34 with six saves and a 3.86 ERA (252 ER/588.0 IP) in 269 appearances (65 starts) covering seven major league seasons with the Yankees (2012-14), Miami (2015-17), Seattle (2017), Toronto (2019) and the Cubs (2019). Webster, 29, posted no record and a 4.91 ERA (6 ER/11.0 IP) in 12 relief appearances with the Cubs last season before being placed on the injured list on May 11. He is 8-6 with one save and a 6.03 ERA (90 ER/134.1 IP) in 43 career big league outings covering five seasons with Boston (2013-14), Arizona (2015) and the Cubs (2018-19). Cubs add pitcher Colin Rea to 40 man roster. Protected from Rule 5 draft now Hearing the Cubs aren’t offering Cole Hamels a qualifying offer so he’ll be a free agent with no draft compensation attached to him etc.
