They did it this time!
Earlier this offseason, the Cubs picked up lefty Ian Clarkin off of waivers from the White Sox, and unsuccessfully tried to get him through waivers when the White Sox grabbed him back. Then, the Cubs grabbed Clarkin back when the White Sox tried to do the same thing.
Now, the Cubs have successfully sent Clarkin through waivers, and outrighted him to AAA Iowa:
LHP Ian Clarkin cleared waivers, assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa. Cubs' 40-man roster at 38.
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) February 1, 2019
This means the Cubs get to hang onto Clarkin right now without taking up a 40-man roster spot. He’ll pitch at AAA or AA until and unless he’s needed by the big league team, at which point he’d have to be added back to the 40-man roster.
For more on Clarkin, see here. He’s a nice, interesting lefty.
With the 40-man at 38, the Cubs now have plenty of space to add a veteran back-up catcher like Martin Maldonado and then also Bryce Harper because ha ha ha we are all just having a good jokey time today.