NEWSLETTER
Under normal circumstances, word that an underperforming reliever was headed to the disabled list with a toe issue would be cause for an uncomfortable level of relief. You never want to see a guy hurt, but sometimes a player just needs a break. In Shawn Camp’s case, it’s been clear for some time that he needs a break.
And he’s getting one, in the form of a disabled list stint for an injured big toe. Maybe that has something to do with his recent woes.
But here’s where I get a bit miffed: the Cubs have known about the issue since this weekend. Camp reportedly got treatment for it on Sunday, and the treatment didn’t help.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Just yesterday, rather than do something with Shawn Camp (at the time, we were thinking release, but now we see that a DL stint was legitimately available), the Cubs DFA’d Michael Bowden to make room for Matt Garza. To be sure, Bowden has some issues, and the Cubs may have decided they didn’t want to keep him on the Major League roster anyway.
But … if there was even a tiny chance they wanted to keep him around, rather than trade or waive him, they had a golden opportunity here with Camp. They didn’t take it, and Camp gave up the decided grand slam last night. It’s frustrating, even if there’s a good explanation. I guess I’ll wait patiently for the announcement that Bowden has been traded for an interesting, upside prospect. If something like that happens during this DFA period (or if we learn that the Cubs were simply done with Bowden either way), I’ll assume that was always the plan, and we can resume thinking good things about the Cubs’ roster management at the margins.
In the interim, human shuttle Rafael Dolis has been called up to take Camp’s spot on the roster.
