Pual Sullivan of the Tribune tweets that the Cubs have designated for assignment Carlos Marmol and released Ian Stewart. The Cubs also promoted left handed hitting outfielder Brian Bogusevic to the major league roster.
Bogusevic is hitting .319, with 10 HR, 32 RBI at Iowa this year. In 146 games last season, he hit .203 for the Astros. His promotion can only mean that it is a showcase promotion to add to any future trades.
Marmol could only really handle 7th or 8th inning duty. He was a two pitch pitcher who could not throw his fastball for strikes to keep batters honest. In 2013, Marmol was 2-4, 5.86 ERA with 1,699 WHIP. For his Cub career, Marmol was 23-32, 3.50 ERA with 117 saves.
The amazing aspect of this report is that the Cubs basically decided to eat $5 million in dead money without even the hope of getting any return for either Marmol or Stewart.
Marmol was a former closer who had lost his command. Apparently, the Cubs coaching staff of "teachers" could not fix Marmol's problems. Just as it does not bode well for Marmol, it does scream staff failure.
Stewart was a front office disaster from the beginning of spring training. He was a malcontent who was injured last season and failed to produce as a starting third baseman. Instead of cutting ties this spring, the Cubs rewarded Stewart with a $2 million contract. Stewart reacted by immediately getting hurt, then disruptively sulking in Iowa.
