This afternoon, the Cubs made several moves involving the 40-man roster.

Outrighted off the roster were Esmailin Caridad, Lou Montanez and Kyle Smit. Caridad was once thought to be a candidate to be a solid middle reliever, but he never made it. Montanez was a fill-in and didn't appear likely to make it past 2011. Smit, one of the minor leaguers acquired in the Ted Lilly deal, never made it either.

Added to the 40-man roster were: 24-year-old left-handed reliever Jeff Beliveau, 21-year-old infielder Junior Lake, 22-year-old infielder Josh Vitters and 22-year-old outfielder Matt Szczur. Lake and Vitters both played in the Arizona Fall League just concluded; it's conceivable, but not likely, that one or both could be in play for a major league spot in 2012. Szczur will probably play 2012 at Double-A. It's also possible that Beliveau will be in the running for a bullpen spot next year.

Because certain people here keep track of such things, the 40-man roster currently stands at 34.