Among the many possibilities for the Chicago Cubs’ 2012 rotation upon breaking camp, something I didn’t really see coming was Randy Wells heading to AAA Iowa to start the year. Yes, he has an option, and it was a theoretical possibility, but the guy had back-to-back very good years as a starter in 2009 and 2010, and then an injury-plagued 2011 at the back of which he came back and pitched well. And, then, in Spring, he looked good.
It matters not. He’s headed to Iowa, per multiple reports. This will be discussed at length soon. For now, the move will allow the Cubs to keep another pitcher in the bullpen (probably an optionless one or Rule 5 pick Lendy Castillo), so it’s not a *horrible* move. Just a surprising one.
In a separate but also important bit (which feels like a footnote now), Steve Clevenger has won the back-up catcher battle, and Welington Castillo will head back to Iowa where he can start every day. I’m going to guess that Clevenger’s lefty bat was the tie-breaker.
UPDATE: By the way, there are other cuts today, which I’ve discussed on the BN Twitter, and will be posting about when they are all revealed. (The only modestly surprising ones so far are Casey Coleman and Scott Maine.)