Braden Looper has decided to retire after being informed by the Cubs that he wouldn’t be making the team, according to Bruce Miles.
Looper was in camp on a minor league deal after not pitching for all of 2010 (hence the witty “again” in the title), but didn’t show enough to make the rotation or the roster. Given the decision to guarantee a bullpen spot to Jeff Samardzija, and the apparent decision to keep James Russell in the pen, the space for Looper simply wasn’t there unless he was lights out. The fact that the Cubs would have had to pay him $1 million to keep him around probably didn’t help his cause.
You may now resume remembering/hating Looper as a Cardinal.