The Chicago Cubs optioned Jake Fox back to AAA Iowa last night to make room for utility infielder Aaron Miles, who is coming off of the disabled list.
Now, there are a few gripes that one could lob about this, but I think ultimately it will be ok.
Miles, for all his light-hitting this year, is still a better utility option for this team than most others in the system, including Jake Fox. Fox, who was 5-12 in his time with the Cubs, is a great bench bat, but he’s not a defensive regular quite yet (or so everyone keeps telling me). That’s why the move, at this time, is understandable.
Further, I can’t imagine that Fox won’t be back for interleague play. It would be a perversity in the extreme if the Cubs did not take advantage of the period of time where his bat can be used without subjecting him to the strictures of defense.
Remember – in these option years, the Cubs can shuffle Fox up and down from Iowa as often as they please. Fox may not love the idea, but so it is in the first three years of a MLB player’s professional career.
So I think we’ll be seeing Fox again very soon, and my assumption is that either Bobby Scales or Andres Blanco will head back to Iowa at that time. If Fox dominates, even only with the bat, maybe this will be the last time he’s shuffled loose the Major League coil – if not the Cubs coil.
