Cubs utilityman Ben Zobrist has been reinstated from the restricted list and added to the 25-man and 40-man rosters, according to a tweet from Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (link). To make room on the active 25-man roster, fellow multipurpose player David Bote has been optioned to Triple-A Iowa; outfielder Mark Zagunis has been designated for assignment to clear a space for Zobrist on the 40-man. A similar report from MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian has since been retweeted by the club itself, essentially comprising what passes for an official announcement in 2019.
Though Zobrist and Bote are certainly the most famous names involved in this transaction, the DFA of Zagunis is certainly noteworthy, as the longtime Cubs farmhand offers lots of control and a relatively accomplished minor league track record. The 26-year-old has only received 55 at-bats in the bigs since debuting in 2017, but his minor league numbers tell of a patient hitter with consistently average-or-better league-adjusted production. With Triple-A Iowa this year, Zagunis has managed a .294/.361/.475 slash in his fourth go-around at the highest level of the minors; last year, his .272/.395/.375 output in 453 Iowa ABs was even better by virtue of weighted measures (111 wRC+). It will be interesting to see if a non-contender takes a flier on him in the hopes that he proves to be a big-league late bloomer.
Zobrist has been out of action since May as he deals with the ongoing ramifications of a divorce. He wasn’t off to a particularly hot start in 2019, as his .241/.343/.253 slash was far less than fans have come to expect of the multitalented greybeard. At 38-years-old, Zobrist is playing in the last year of a four-year/$56MM deal signed with Chicago prior to 2016.
This is the second time Bote has been optioned this month. Despite a .262/.359/.435 (106 wRC+) profile this year, the 26-year-old has been nonetheless wearing one for the team in recent weeks, as the activation of Steve Cishek saw him down to Triple-A Iowa on Aug. 19, only to be recalled on Aug. 25 when Anthony Rizzo started ailing. With this option, the big league sophomore will need to remain in Triple-A for a minimum of ten days.
lol a productive player just went to AAA for a has been. What a wild game.
World Series MVP ,goat curse , 108 year drought killer , and able to acquire Craig Kimbrel, Ben Zobrist .
has been. thanks.
This guy has always been a troll. Move on.
Good guy, decent career, but Ben Zobrist is 38 yrs old. When will cubs fans realize it’s not 2016 anymore? Move on.
I doubt they care about the opinion of a White Sox fan. At least they’re relevant in 2019.
And they kept Tony Kemp on the roster, why? In fact, why did they want him in the first place?
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Zobrist probably wishing he didn’t marry a “trophy wife”.
Wow you baseball fans are some hateful mf’s. Cause he ain’t on your team you’re gonna say something as stupid as that? These people have young children and have been married for years. A quick google search that my unintoxicated self can easily see they net in high school. So go kiss your miserable spouse if you even have one and thank god she hasn’t left you with your unfortunate kids. Man
Whoo boy. I hear ya, pal.
I bet she was getting railed while they played “B-B-B-Benny and the Jets” during his at-bats.
Real classy
Wow, hold those thoughts while I cue up my CD of “Tears on My Pillow”!
You Chicago fans are wayyyyyy over the top regarding this Zobrist issue. Do we need a moment of silence for the guy also?
I’m not a Cub fan but I respect the guy for what he’s done in baseball and what he does in life as a human being. He seems like a very good helpful man to other people and he’s getting crapped on for taking a few months off in what is possibly his final season.
Can we shut the hell up with marriage comments already.
Zobrist’s marriage woes had a direct impact on the game. He is a public figure, paid huge dough in part because his every move, on and off the field, is scrutinized.
That being said, I’m rooting for him to recover because a messy divorce is not something I would wish on my worst enemies. If he can play baseball and not be a complete emotional wreck, then that will be inspirational for every guy whose been raked across the coals.
mgraub00, I second that emotion…..
Why don’t you think of the family involved here. They have kids and this is going to affect them more than than the parents for a life time. It doesn’t matter if he is a high paid player, he is still human and those children will suffer regardless
Love to see the Phillies pick up Zagunis. OF could use the help.
Somewhat an odd move since Zobrist was postseason eligible with the DFA of Zagunis and him not being on the restricted list……the odd part is Bote being optioned and needing to stay ten days even though the rosters expand in a couple of hours.
Could have just added Zobrist to the roster in the morning.
Perhaps a way to get Bote everyday at bats for a week or so as the Iowa Cubs are in the AAA playoffs?????????
I think you answered your own question. since Zobrist wasnt on the 40 and on a restricted list, i believe he needed to be added before Sept 1.
I get that part of it—he’s obviously on the 40 man today, August 31 and postseason eligible. Question is why not just bring him back tomorrow (Sept 1) when rosters expand instead of optioning Bote and forcing Bote to the minors for ten days? I’m guessing Bote would have more chances to play in the next ten days with Iowa than the Cubs. Just seemed odd to me.
Because he has to be added BEFORE September 1, not on September 1.
No he doesn’t lol. So many people destroy this rule, because they don’t understand it. He was eligible even if he was on the restricted list. He was playoff eligible no matter whether they took him off the restricted list today or Wednesday.
Wrong. Players on the restricted list must be active prior to Sept 1st to be eligible for the playoffs. To do that he had to be on the 25 man roster since he has no options left.
You destroyed that rule yourself
Please explain it to me then. Here is where I got the info and why I knew a few weeks ago that Zobrist was being activated after the game on Saturday night.
——————————–
. Why that second part, when rosters expand to the full 40-man in, oh, and hour and a half? Well, there was always a little opacity with respect to the specifics of Zobrist’s return from the restricted list and playoff eligibility. Normally, anyone in the organization by August 31 is playoff-eligible, even if not on the active roster (there are maneuverings that can make it happen, and it really isn’t something to worry about in 99.9% of circumstances), but obviously there were particular circumstances for Zobrist’s restricted list situation. If he was going to be playoff-eligible, he had to be back on the 25-man roster as of today (basically, you gotta be on AN active roster in the org, but since Zobrist doesn’t have options left, it HAD to be MLB).
————————
bleachernation.com/2019/08/31/cubs-roster-moves-zo…
Any player who is on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list as of 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 is eligible for the postseason.
Those on the restricted list at that point are also eligible if they haven’t been suspended for performance-enhancing drugs during that season.
Taken straight from mlb.
Please provide a link to this, as that is not how it has been said in any report I have seen about Zobrist being eligible for the playoffs and by the way of how the Cubs made this move, not how it works. Unless you think Theo made this move after a game and on August 31st for no reason than nothing to do on a Saturday night.
Not trying to be that guy, but all you have to do is google mlb playoff eligibility and you’ll find it in the mlb glossary. Unlike sites, such as bleachernation or bleacher report etc… who aren’t entirely accurate, It has the entire post season eligibility requirements on it.
As to why Theo made the move at the time he did, I’m not going to speculate, bc I generally have no idea. It may be as simple as the FO finding it to be a good time to sneak Zagunis through, but again who knows. To be honest, I don’t generally care why he did it, because I’m not trying to troll. There is just so much misunderstanding and false info that the rule gets botched quite often.
Odd move. Bote now will not be eligible for post season play when he’s brought back up. Need his bat and fielding when playoffs start.
He only needs to be on the 40 man roster by September 1
You’re assuming they make it that far, I see them playing one game against the Nats and Scherzer. The end
@chicagofan1978—that is the same Scherzer than didn’t retire any of the seven cubs batters he faced in game five of the NLDS in 2017, right? One game anything can happen…..
He came in from the bullpen on short rest. You are right though anything can happen. Unlike the guy with the two Sox accounts who is apparently missing right now I won’t talk out of my butt cause I hate the Cubs. I don’t see the Cubs beating Max in a wild card game. I just don’t see it happening.
They hit home runs and they win, if not they lose. That doesn’t say much for the manager and they really have under preformed all year. I’m not the only one that believes Maddon is terribly over rated. They win a lot in spite of Maddon, not because of him. consider Dave Ross for manager and DUMP Addison Russell. Losers bring losing.
Bote is eligible for the playoffs…..again just odd that the front office apparently think he is more valuable to team organization in Iowa than in Chicago.
That’s incorrect
Odd indeed, Seems like wasted move DFA Zag. Maybe front office message to Maddon: Play Ben @ 2b don’t move him or KB to outfield so Bote gets PT.
Ben may give uplifting boost to teams moral down the stretch. They may catch fire and take the NLC. The the talent level is still there. Mostly the same team since they came together in 2015 and eeked it out in 2016, but Maddon will manage this team out of contention. It will come down to the wire for that 2nd wild card slot, but more than likely It will be Win the NLC or go home. Mets, Phillies, DB’s all finish ahead of the NLC 2nd place.. Hope I’m wrong.
Abe-Respectfully,you’re wrong.
Cubs will either beat out the Cardinals or win the second wild card.
Only time will tell what they do from there.
Abe—what makes you really think that ALL of those teams will finish ahead of the second place Central team? Really only one needs to, but all three? And also, what in his track record of 15 years gives even an inkling that Maddon will manage this team out of contention. As point of fact, the Cubs have made the playoffs every year since he’s been here (they won exactly 73 games in 2014) and Tampa has not made the playoffs since he left. The Cubs will be in contention. I’ve come to the realization that Joe Maddon will not be appreciated by a pocket of fans until after he’s gone. And then—-they will all wonder why the Cubs suck again.
Why, because I actually watch the Cub Games.
I also predicted Cubs fate last season at the trade deadline when they signed Murphy. Said would be wild card time and lose the one and done while they were in 1st.
Does anyone think today’s game was well managed: Started the call ups and rested 3rd of offense. Played the whole bench except Zobrist.
You are absolutely right that Maddon will not be appreciated after he is gone ( by ME ) and he’ll take all the credit for his record as a whole. He will also never give it a second thought how he took a group of talent and turned them into underachievers through his coaching style which is: Make crazy moves so the headlines will be about his coaching.
2015 team was probably the best this group ever played but they were not ready for that Met’s series. To me that falls directly on the Managers shoulders for not preparing the team. They took the Mets lightly since they owned them in the few regular season games. Looked like a team that showed up expecting the participation award but wondered why they were going home quickly and empty handed
2016 team was Huge favorite going into season and anything less than WS title would have been a failure. That team was well rested down the stretch but were good enough to overcome starting each series flat WS included. I give Maddon ZERO credit for the win. I credit that team for sucking it up and coming back to win it in spite of Maddon’s crazy coaching.
2017 was a year of excuses as to why they didn’t repeat but they credit Maddon for getting them to the NLCS and getting embarassed by the Dodgers. That team didn’t deserve to advance beyond the Nationals. Wasn’t coaching that advanced them. Some questionable calls turned the tides and Nationals self destructed.
2018 Yet again this Maddon led team comes into the season flat and losing. Team should be ready after spring training not need April and May before the team is ready to compete. Heavy favorites yet some how fall flat before the finish line rather than waiting for post season. “Its a long season, we’ll be there at the end” That attitude caught up with them because they didn’t expect a hungry team catch them. Lose tie breaker @ home, One and done season over.
2019 Brass gives Maddon a new coaching staff yet again same results. It’s never Maddon’s fault, its always coaches and same results. Yet most of these same coaches go to other teams and have success again. Maddon just rides a team until the talent moves on. Exactly the same pattern he exhibited in TB. Team peaked come way short in WS then regress each and every year.
The talent is still there and they are capable of turning it around, but Maddon is a lame duck and his style of Managing is not going to change. 24 hours can make a difference but that is just another way for him relate the same message that it’s a long season and we’ll be there in the end. For the Cubs fans who are like me: long before the 2016 season, that means “wait until next year”.
There’s a new rule, you can only carry 1 Z player at a time.
No Rosario? No Alzolay? Perhaps the front office is waiting until the AAA season is over…
You guys are amazing. You’re actually the reason I deleted this app for a few months to begin with. All the comments about how guys like Chapman or Russell are horrible people who should not get a second chance for beating women and this man is actually taking time to take care of his family and still you guys mock him. It’s literally a damned if you do damned if you don’t World nowadays