Chicago Cubs Claim Righty Zach Putnam Off Waivers from Rockies
Insert joke about “if the Rockies don’t want a certain pitcher, nobody wants him.”
Today, the Cubs once again skimmed the waiver wire to pick up a fringy arm, who had been waived by the Colorado Rockies. That arm belongs to Zach Putnam, a 25-year-old righty who has had a couple cups of coffee, but has mostly been a minor league pitcher.
Putnam, a reliever, has pitched in four full professional seasons after being drafted out of the University of Michigan back in 2008. He made it to AAA by 2010, but has kind of stalled out there. His numbers are consistently in the 3.50 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 8 K/9, 3 BB/9 range. Good. Not great. Certainly good enough to be considered a candidate for the bullpen in 2013.
Putnam was the prospect the Rockies landed when they dealt Kevin Slowey (who was a non-tender candidate at the time, if I remember correctly) to the Indians before the 2012 season. Back in 2011, Putnam was a top 20 prospect for the Indians, and was considered a top 10 prospect for the Rockies this year, before falling back into the 15 to 20 range after a mediocre season.
You’ll notice a lot of waiver activity today, as teams make room for anticipated free agency signings, starting as soon as tomorrow. The Cubs snagged pitcher Carlos Gutierrez off of waivers from the Twins a couple weeks ago.
The addition of Putnam brings the 40-man roster to 34, but that doesn’t include Arodys Vizcaino, Matt Garza, and Ian Stewart, who are technically still on the 60-day disabled list. It includes Shawn Camp, who’ll be removed tomorrow when he hits free agency.
