NEWSLETTER
That’ll show me. Do a full write-up on a guy, and he’s gonna get DFA’d.
I mostly kid, of course, because lefty Mike Kickham’s spot on the 40-man roster was never guaranteed to take him all the way through the offseason. Now that he’s been designated for assignment, the Cubs have 10 days to trade, release, or waive Kickham, and they’ll almost certainly opt for the latter. If he clears waivers, the Cubs could outright him to AAA Iowa, which would be the ideal outcome here (for the Cubs, if not for Kickham). At AAA Iowa, Kickham can continue starting, or transition to a lefty role in the bullpen. He’s an intriguing lefty arm, though, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him claimed by another team. (Interesting aside: speaking of many waiver claims, Ryan Lavarnway is probably back on waivers once again, having just been DFA’d by the Orioles. We’ll see if the Cubs try to grab him once again – it’ll be tough, though, with the full 40-man.)
The Kickham DFA was necessary to open a 40-man spot for Chris Denorfia, whom the Cubs have now officially signed. We’ve discussed his signing already at length, and the short version is that it’s good to have him in the outfield mix. He can play all over, and he’s likely to platoon with Chris Coghlan in left field.
The length of time between Denorfia reportedly agreeing to terms and the official add suggests that the Cubs may have been considering other options for opening a spot on the 40-man before defaulting to the DFA today (trade talks, perhaps?). It’s also possible there were issues scheduling the physical, so it might not have been entirely about trades.
