Headlines

  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim
  • Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cubs Designate R.J. Alvarez For Assignment

By Steve Adams | September 6, 2016 at 5:41pm CDT

The Cubs announced a series of roster moves on Tuesday afternoon, including the activation of Hector Rondon from the disabled list and the recalls of veteran infielder Munenori Kawasaki, right-hander Spencer Patton and prospect Albert Almora from Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs also selected the contract of catcher Tim Federowicz from Iowa and designated right-hander R.J. Alvarez for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

[Related: Updated Chicago Cubs Depth Chart]

Rondon returns to the Cubs’ bullpen after spending about three weeks on the disabled list and brings an impact arm back to the team’s setup corps, helping to soften the blow of Pedro Strop’s extended absence. In 43 2/3 innings this season, Rondon has pitched to a 2.47 ERA with a stellar 51-to-6 K/BB ratio. He lost the closer’s gig when the Cubs acquired Aroldis Chapman and will return to the setup role in which he was largely excellent. Rondon served up four runs in 6 2/3 innings following Chapman’s acquisition, but all four of those runs came in one dismal outing. Aside from that hiccup, he made six scoreless appearances.

Almora has long been one of the Cubs’ top prospects and got his feet wet in the Majors earlier this season when he batted .265/.291/.422 across 86 plate appearances. Patton, meanwhile, has tallied 17 1/3 innings of 4.67 ERA ball out of the Chicago ’pen this season and has an excellent track record at Triple-A (2.51 ERA in 125 1/3 innings). And Kawasaki, of course, is something of a cult hero due to his gregarious personality and over-the-top exuberance in interviews. He spent a bit of the time with the Cubs earlier this season and has quite a bit of MLB experience with the Mariners and Blue Jays. He’s a .234/.315/.285 hitter in 715 big league plate appearances dating back to 2012.

Federowicz will return to the Cubs after being outrighted earlier this summer. He’s a career .194/.245/.297 hitter in 298 plate appearances between the Cubs and Dodgers and will add some catching depth, though the Cubs already have Willson Contreras, David Ross and Miguel Montero on the active roster.

Alvarez, 25, came to the Cubs via waivers earlier this year. He’s been involved in a pair of high-profile trades, going from the Angels to the Padres in package for Huston Street and also going from the Padres to the A’s alongside Jesse Hahn in exchange for Derek Norris. However, he hasn’t capitalized on the upside that made him a well-regarded arm in the Angels’ and Padres’ systems, compiling a 7.39 ERA in 28 big league innings from 2014-15 and struggling to a 7.00 ERA in 27 innings across three minor league stops in 2016.

Share 0 Retweet 16 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Transactions R.J. Alvarez Tim Federowicz

Marlins Activate Giancarlo Stanton
Main
Coppolella: Braves “Exploring The Possibility” Of Signing Tim Tebow
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Recent

    Giants Activate Matt Chapman, DFA Sergio Alcantara

    Nationals Reinstate Mason Thompson From 60-Day IL

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Rangers To Sign Rowdy Tellez To Minor League Deal

    Yankees Likely To Promote Cam Schlittler

    Astros Sign Hector Neris

    Dodgers Not Planning To Add Third Base Help Before Deadline

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Blue Jays Place Yimi Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version