Ben Rowen, We Hardly Knew Ye: Claimed By Blue Jays

Ben Rowen’s time with the Chicago Cubs was brief and unremarkable. Added to the big league roster on July 29 to help a depleted bullpen, Rowen saw Jon Lester dominate the Rockies, and then saw Jake Arrieta and the Cubs’ primary back of the bullpen crew take out the Brewers. He was designated for assignment immediately thereafter on July 31 when the Cubs acquired Tommy Hunter and Dan Haren.

The Cubs were undoubtedly hopeful they could sneak the crafty submariner through waivers (outright assignment waivers, mind you, not the kind of August trade waivers we discussed earlier), but it wasn’t to be:

#BlueJays claim RHP Ben Rowen from #Cubs, assign him to triple-A Buffalo

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) August 3, 2015

In the Cubs’ system for less than a month, Rowen pitched well at AAA Iowa, staying in the zone and inducing tons of grounders, as he regularly does.

Unfortunately for Rowen (and possibly the Cubs), the team’s 40-man roster is loaded with difficult-to-maneuver players (for example, the Cubs’ entire bullpen is comprised of guys without minor league options or guys you’d never want to take out of the bullpen).