Only a few hours ahead of their three-game series against the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs have shaken up their roster with the hope of turning things around in what has been a dismal season for them so far in 2014.
The Cubs have designated reliever Jose Veras for assignment while also sending Welington Castillo to the DL. Castillo is out with a left rib cage injury and it is uncertain when he will be coming back while Veras hasn’t been able to gain a place in a revamped bullpen that saw him lost the closer job only 10 games into the season.
The replacements will be Hector Rondon – who returns from a short absence on the paternity list and is expected to regain the closer role – and Eli Whiteside. The Triple-A Iowa catcher will be backing up John Baker until Castillo recovers.
Castillo currently has a .242/287/385 slash line with five homers and 21 RBIs this season. Meanwhile, Veras spotted a 8.10 ERA and 1.73 WHIP and he will likely go down as a $4M mistake during costless agency.