As expected, the Cubs have opened up a 40-man spot for newly-signed reliever Jeremy Jeffress, whose deal should become official very soon.
And, as expected, it’s one of the newly-acquired upside relievers who is heading out:
Reliever Travis Lakins — acquired from the Red Sox earlier this offseason — has been claimed off waivers by the Orioles. Cubs' 40-man roster drops to 39.
Related: Cubs have not yet officially added Jeremy Jeffress to the 40-man roster.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) January 31, 2020
Lakins was one of the many interesting additions for the Cubs this offseason, but he was the guy they tried to sneak through waivers this time around. No dice. Notably, Lakins was actually a trade acquisition by the Cubs (PTBNL or cash – it’s gonna be virtually nothing at this point), because he’d been DFA’d by the Red Sox and the Cubs must’ve wanted to jump the waiver process to make sure they got him. That they then tried to get him through waivers themselves is interesting.
In any case, there’s a spot open on the 40-man now for Jeffress, and Lakins is off to the Orioles.