The Brian Schlitter disaster tour is over (well, at least on hiatus), as the Chicago Cubs sent the young reliever – together with his 12.38 ERA – back to AAA Iowa. In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled righty Mitch Atkins to shore up the bullpen (*chuckles at the thought that any internal move the Cubs could make at this point would shore up the bullpen*).
Atkins returns to a 6.43 ERA with the big club, leaving behind a 3.49 ERA at AAA. Atkins has been a starter most of his career, but if he’s to have a future with the Cubs, he’ll need to start showing he can be effective out of the pen.
