Cubs lose Chandler Shepherd on waivers to Orioles

Last Saturday, the Cubs claimed righthander Chandler Shepherd on waivers from the Red Sox and assigned him to Double-A Tennessee.

Shepherd never played for the Smokies, as the Cubs spent the last several days trying to sneak him through waivers. On that, they did not succeed:

Shepherd was a lottery ticket anyway, a 26-year-old righthander who had not had good results at Triple-A Pawtucket in the Red Sox system this year (10.01 ERA, 2.326 WHIP in eight appearances that included seven starts).

What’s more important here than losing Shepherd is that this move now opens a spot on the 40-man roster. The Cubs might have someone else in mind to claim, someone who could fit in Triple-A or even in the big-league bullpen.

It should be pointed out that Ben Zobrist is not on the 40-man roster while he is on the restricted list tending to a family matter. I am not expecting Zobrist back anytime soon, but when he does return he’ll need a 40-man spot.

As always, we await developments.