The Rundown: Logan Watkins and Donn Roach Clear Waivers, Pirates Win Bid on Korean Infielder Kang
Two recent Cubs DFA victims — IF/OF Logan Watkins and RHP Donn Roach — have cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A Iowa.
Roach may be my favorite-named Cub at the moment (because of the extra, unnecessary “N” in his first name), so I’m pretty happy about the news. The pitcher was claimed by the Cubs from the Padres in November.
The designations were announced by the Cubs last Friday after they claimed 1B/OF Shane Peterson and catcher Ryan Lavarnway. They will need to make another roster move as well, once the David Ross signing is finalized.
Roach and Watkins will provide nice depth at Triple-A. Watkins, who would probably be an adequate utility guy at best, was the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year back in 2012.
That is probably more telling of what the state of the Cubs’ farm system was in 2012. What a difference a couple of years makes.
Other notes
* That unnamed team that won the bid on Korean infielder Jung-Ho Kang? Turns out it was the Pirates. They now have 30 days to work out a deal. So looks like Cubs fans could be seeing a lot of this guy. Despite showing good power numbers in Korea, Baseball America’s Ben Badler sees Kang as a utility/bench guy. Sounds about right for the Pirates, as they already have a pretty solid infield.
* Joe Heyman tweeted out some details of the reliever Jason Motte’s contract with the Cubs. Motte would receive incentives if he finished at least 50 games, which to me shows that the Cubs are hopeful for what he can do for them. The Cubs aren’t simply taking a flyer; they think Motte has a chance to be a closer again. I don’t expect that to happen unless current closer Hector Rondon, who had a great 2014, struggles mightily or gets injured. But you just never know what will happen with bullpens, so I’m glad to see the Cubs giving themselves a number of options.
