In tandem with officially announcing the Austin Jackson trade, the Chicago Cubs designated infielder Mike Olt for assignment. Given that Olt was never given a shot to come up and contribute off of the Cubs’ bench when needs arose throughout the year, perhaps this should be unsurprising.
Olt, 27, has seen his career derailed by injuries over the past few years, including an ill-timed broken wrist at the start of this season. At AAA Iowa, he’s been hitting .261/.329/.455, but the old strikeout bugaboo – 30.3% – is still biting him.
As a guy with huge power and still some potential, Olt’s probably going to get a shot on some club out there, perhaps even on the 40-man roster. The Cubs will have 10 days to trade, waive, or release Olt. It’s possible he’ll clear waivers and be outrighted to Iowa, but it seems like a number of rebuilding clubs would be willing to take a chance on him for free.
We’ll see how this goes, and I’ll offer additional thoughts on Olt’s time with the Cubs (theme: unfulfilled promise, not entirely his fault) when the DFA is resolved.
If the Cubs plan to add anyone else to the 40-man roster today – Quintin Berry? Emilio Bonifacio? – they’ll have to make additional 40-man moves.