NEWSLETTER
I know that Tim Federowicz didn’t hit much in his time up with the big league team, but I’m still rather glad to see this:
Cubs catcher Tim Federowicz cleared waivers and is reporting back to Triple-A Iowa. https://t.co/5fxuTkezwg
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) June 27, 2016
Federowicz clears waivers, sent to Iowa.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) June 27, 2016
You’ll recall that it was far from a sure thing, back when the Cubs first designated Federowicz for assignment, that they’d be able to keep him. Not only did Federowicz, a capable back-up, have to clear waivers, but my understand of his situation is that he also had the right to elect free agency rather than an assignment to Iowa, if he thought there was a better minor league deal out there for him. (SEE UPDATE BELOW)
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The fact that a team claiming him would have to put him on the 25-man roster or simply do the same waiver dance with him no doubt played a big role in him not being claimed. Still, I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t a team out there that could stand to add another back-up catcher. It does probably speak to a lack of general optimism around the league for his skill set.
Still, the Cubs have a dinged-up Miguel Montero and a 39-year-old David Ross catching at the big league level, together with a youngster in Willson Contreras, who is playing as much in other positions as he is behind the plate. Having Federowicz around as emergency depth at AAA is a good thing.
UPDATE: Well, it turns out that Federowicz did indeed have the right to elect free agency, and that’s an option he’s still considering:
Fyi Federowicz did clear waivers but still deciding whether to join Iowa. Other option is to be free agent. #Cubs
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) June 28, 2016
Well then. As you’ll recall, my instinct previously had been that some team would give him a better path to the Majors than the Cubs could offer, so the whole thing yesterday kinda caught me by surprise. Now we’ll see how this plays out. Hopefully he’ll stick around.
