Today the Rangers claimed lefty reliever Jeff Beliveau off of waivers from the Cubs. Which is a bummer. Beliveau was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Ian Stewart, and the Cubs apparently hoped they could sneak him through waivers (which they almost did, given that the Rangers would have had one of the lowest claiming priorities).
As the Cubs work to clear roster space to accommodate new signings, we’re probably going to have more of these “bummer” moments. Beliveau had a lot of talent, and the Cubs may wind up regretting this one.
Here’s what I wrote about Beliveau last week when he was DFA’d:
Will he be claimed if waived? Hard to say. Two years ago, Beliveau broke out in the minors, and was the Cubs’ minor league pitcher of the year. He had a shot to make the club out of Spring Training last year, but didn’t quite get it done. Eventually he did make it up to the big club in July, and was thought to be in the mix to be one of the lefties in the pen in 2013. I’m sure the Cubs hope they can keep him, again, barring a trade. He certainly has good stuff.
Beliveau threw 17.2 innings for the Cubs last year, and struck out 17, which is swell. Unfortunately he walked 12, which is not. His control issues were the very thing that held him back in the minors, and the very thing he corralled in his breakout 2011 season.
UPDATE: Apparently the Cubs also waived and lost reliever Sandy Rosario to the Giants (he was on the roster only briefly). So that puts the roster at 39, pending the expected additions of Nate Schierholtz, Edwin Jackson, and Carlos Villanueva.
UPDATE 2: More when I’m not on the road, but Schierholtz signing is official, and Gerardo Concepcion was removed from 40-man, cleared waivers, and was sent to Kane County. Given his contract, not a huge surprise. 40-man stands at 39.