In what was the worst-kept secret roster move of the month, late last night, the Chicago Cubs sent reserve outfielder Tyler Colvin to AAA Iowa. There, Colvin will be able to start regularly, and perhaps break out of his season-long funk. Colvin is hitting just .113/.191/.258 in 62 at bats, with two homers and 17 strikeouts.
Whether the origins of the aforementioned funk lay in his intermittent usage this year, or in the adjustments pitchers have made to approaching his at bats (and the lack of a corresponding adjustment by Colvin), the team hopes regular starts at AAA will be the salvo.
Jim Hendry had some harsh words about the move.
“It wasn’t that he wasn’t given enough at-bats. He didn’t earn enough at-bats. The other guys here outplayed him. He needs to go down and play for a few weeks and once he does we can go back to the plan we had for him. He completely understood and was looking forward to getting some at-bats.”
None of that is wrong, of course. Just kind of harsh, bro.
The Cubs have yet to make a corresponding move, but Paul Sullivan says 24-year-old Tony Campana will get the call, rather than older outfielders Fernando Perez or Lou Montanez. Campana, who would have to be added to the 40-man roster (which stands at 39), was a 13th round pick in 2008, and has an .824 OPS at AAA Iowa. He had a breakout year offensively in 2010 at AA Tennessee, in which he hit .319 with a .378 OBP. Before that, he was a whole lot of speed and little else. Campana is not considered a big-time prospect – he turns 25 in a couple weeks – but he could prove to be an intriguing player off the bench over the next few years.