The battle for the last spot in the Cubs bullpen is coming down to the wire and on Saturday veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa was reportedly released by the team. Tazawa signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason, but despite a strong performance in spring training he has been let go.
By releasing Tazawa on Saturday, the Cubs avoided having to pay the pitcher a $100,000 retention bonus. Via Bleacher Nation.
Today is something of a roster deadline for veterans on minor league contracts, because those types get a $100,000 retention bonus if they are not released by today and then are not going to be added to the 40-man roster by Opening Day.The 32-year-old made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2009, and was great from 2012-14, as Tazawa's ERA didn't go above 3.16 during those three years. He signed a deal with the Marlins prior to the 2017 season and struggled in Miami. Tazawa was then released in May 2018. All signs point to Pedro Strop being ready for Opening Day, but there aren't any indications that we'll see any significant changes to the Cubs bullpen. These are pretty much going to be the eight relievers on the 25-man roster on Opening Day. Pedro Strop Carl Edwards Jr. Brad Brach Steve Cishek Brandon Kintzler Tyler Chatwood Mike Montgomery Brian Duensing But who knows, maybe the Cubs do end up making one more surprise cut, like Duensing, and add a guy from either their minor league system or another veteran who also suffered the same fate as Tazawa did Saturday.
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