Luis Vizcaino Designated For Assignment

[TheBenjamin]

Luis Vizcaino Designated For Assignment
By Tim Dierkes [April 23 at 9:41am CST]
9:41am: Vizcaino has been designated for assignment, according to ESPN's Bruce Levine. Levine says Cubs GM Jim Hendry "tried to be creative with other teams, including the Washington Nationals, and tried to save some money before having to release Vizcaino."

Assuming Vizcaino signs elsewhere at the minimum salary, that'll be $3.6MM lost for the Cubs. They also sent $875K to Colorado in the January Jason Marquis deal. So the Cubs will end up paying $4.475MM rather than Marquis' $9.875MM salary.

[TheBenjamin]

heather, if you see this anytime soon, please post it as a bulliten on my page

[KingKong10]

10 MLB seasons and 11 teams = journeyman scrub

they should have just kept marquis

yeah he was pricey, but he was a great spot starter and is a quality MLB pitcher.

[TheBenjamin]

I agree, I wish we still had Marquis, but Viz had pitched very well for us in his limited time here.

[Doba]

The roster moves continue to puzzle me. Besides letting Howry go I haven't liked any move made since the end of last season.

[TheBenjamin]

I agree Doba. Things just are not making much sense at all.

[TheBenjamin]

Cubs designate reliever Vizcaino
Right-hander Samardzija recalled from Triple-A
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com

As expected, the Cubs designated right-hander Luis Vizcaino for assignment on Thursday to make room on the 25-man roster for Jeff Samardzija.
According to ESPN.com, Chicago was trying to trade Vizcaino before bringing up Samardzija from Triple-A Iowa. But while general manager Jim Hendry attempted to work out a deal with other teams to save money -- including the Nationals -- the 34-year-old reliever will now be on waivers for up to 72 hours. After that, the Cubs will have seven days to release or trade him.

Vizcaino, who is owed $3.5 million this season and has a $4 million club option in 2010 -- with a $500,000 buyout -- pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings for the Cubs this season.

Throughout his 11-year career, the Dominican Republic native is 34-27 with a 4.31 ERA.

Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Doba]

Why are we eating contracts left and right, making bad trades and terrible signings? I'm frustrated with Hendry to say the least. Lets go ahead and trade Hoffpauir while we are at it.

[Bockstock]

Why are we eating contracts left and right, making bad trades and terrible signings? I'm frustrated with Hendry to say the least. Lets go ahead and trade Hoffpauir while we are at it.

Piniella's the one behind the moves. Hendry caters to his managers, but maybe Jimbo needs to put his foot down more often.

[ryno4ever]

I'm sorry, I know a lot of the offseason moves have come down to money, but jeez. It really seems as if all of the offseason moves were all directed toward us getting Peavy, and when that happened, we were screwed and it was too late to undo what was done.

Marquis=Vizciano.... Vizciano=cut.... gave up a reliable fifth starter for NOTHING.

Wood=Gregg.... human walking launchpad for a guy who not only bled Cubbie Blue, but had finally found his place on this team where he earned his money.

DeRosa=Miles... perhaps too early to tell, but I just don't see Miles being anything near the value that DeRo brought to the team, on and off the field.

Milton Bradley (I saw a post or two on here, I just haven't read them yet, so sorry in advance if this has already been said). This guy hasn't changed, as he said he has. He is 1 for 23 with an injury and suspension already under his belt with the season barely 3 weeks old. Are you kidding me? THEN he makes sure he disappears before the media is even allowed into the clubhouse to avoid having to talk to them. Sorry, buddy, but you voluntarily signed in Chicago, and with that comes the Chicago Media (who happen to serve as our voice as fans)... and starting out by avoiding them is going to make for a very very long tenure in a Cub uniform. The media has a lot to do with how quickly the fans will turn on you...and when they turn on you, your time in Chicago will be absolutely MISERABLE! This is the Milton Bradley we have heard about, and if this is the MB we are going to see for the next three years, I would have rather seen Adam Dunn out there!

Our team won the most games in the NL last year... sure, we needed a tweak here and there, but a whole new bullpen and the pickups we did get don't nearly measure up to what we had, I just see it being a very uphill climb for this team.

One more thing...WHY ISN'T RAMIREZ IN THE THREE HOLE? Isn't the three hole supposed to be your best hitter? Rammy is not only our best hitter, but perhaps one of the best in the whole National League, if not baseball. I understand he gets more RBI chances (on paper) if he is cleanup, but he hasn't even been consistently there. If he is in the three hole, he will get more at bats per season... and with Sori and Fukudome/Theriot ahead of him, there are still plenty of RBI chances ... that is as long as The Riot doesn't go and get caught stealing in key situations. grrrr..

I could go on and on and on... but right now, I just need to simmer on this a bit more. These last two games have been HORRIBLE...and now we go into St. Louis like beaten dogs.