Fans knew it was a matter of time before the Chicago Cubs designated their next player for assignment to the minors.
The move was coming after news broke of the team agreeing to terms with Trey Mancini.
With the two-year deal between him and the Cubs now completed, fans are finding out who got a DFA to make room for Mancini.
The player who is going back to the minors is left-handed pitcher Anthony Kay.
Cubs make Trey Mancini’s two-year deal official.
To make room for him on the 40-man, they DFA’d LHP Anthony Kay.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) January 20, 2023
The Cubs got Kay last month off waivers, meaning his time with the team was short.
While the move was necessary, it is also odd.
After targeting lefty pitchers this offseason, the Cubs have designated one of those players they got.
However, the move is also a smart one for the team.
Kay’s time in the majors hasn’t been fun for him, as he holds a career ERA of 5.48 in 28 appearances.
While he averages 9.81 strikeouts per nine innings, opponents’ batting average against him is .274 during his career.
His career also shows opponents having a .473 slugging percentage against him and a .840 OPS.
All these numbers, along with his career WHIP of 1.63, spell disaster.
So designating him gives the Cubs a chance to help him improve his pitching style.
With the farm system already working with some great pitching talent, maybe they can help Kay making some improvements.
While the demotion leaves the Cubs with one less lefty bullpen pitcher, it gave the team room to add Mancini to their 40-man roster.
If Kay can make improvements during his designation, he’ll be back on the main roster in 2023.
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