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SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- The Cubs announced six roster cuts Saturday morning. One of them might surprise you:
Parker optioned to AAA. Schlitter, Baez, Sanchez, Lim, Valaika assigned to Minor League camp. #Cubs
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 22, 2014
#Cubs also assign Casper Wells to Minor Leagues. Roster now at 37
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 22, 2014
Blake Parker was a member of last year's bullpen and was expected to be a contributor this year, as well. He has not had a good spring -- in six appearances covering nine innings, he allowed six hits and six walks and six earned runs. So he'll head back to Iowa to work on things and likely be back at some point, although his age (29 in June) probably means his major-league career isn't going to be very long, despite the fact that he had a decent season for the Cubs in 2013.
You shouldn't be surprised at any of the other cuts. We knew Javier Baez wasn't going to make the team out of camp and the others were non-roster invitees who had slim chances of going back north with the team. Brian Schlitter had a good year at Iowa last year and might wind up in the big-league pen at some point. The others likely have seen their last games as Cubs.
Despite the reassignment of Baez, he is on the list of reserves for today's game and is reported to be fine after Friday's injury scare, so we might see him play again today.