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The Cubs claimed CD Pelham off waivers from the Texas Rangers last November 27. As a waiver claim, he went right to the 40-man roster.
And now, he’s off the 40-man:
Lefty CD Pelham, who was claimed off waivers earlier this offseason by the Cubs, has cleared waivers this time around. Per the Cubs, he's been sent outright to Triple-A Iowa, dropping the 40-man roster to 39.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) January 24, 2020
Pelham did not pitch in the major leagues at all in 2019. He made 10 appearances with the Rangers in 2018, posting a 7.04 ERA and 2.087 WHIP. That’s not very good. His 2019 in the Rangers system was even worse: 42 appearances with an ERA of 11.97 and WHIP of 2.722. He did have a good K rate of 10.3 per nine innings, but the walk rate was a poor 11.1 per nine. So clearly, he’s got a good arm but needs to do work on his command and control.
Pelham turns 25 next month and sounds like a good candidate for the Cubs’ Pitch Lab. As a lefthander, if he can harness that command, he could be a good, fungible Iowa Shuttle guy.
With a spot open on the 40-man, that hints maybe another move could be coming. I don’t have any inside info, but stay tuned.