Cubs add Rapada and Cherry to 40-man roster

[NorthsideAvenger]

I’ll have a Rapada with Cheese, and a Cherry Coke

by Arizona Phil

With today being the deadline for moving players from the minor leagues to the 40-man roster, the Cubs announced today that they have added LHP Clay Rapada and RHP Rocky Cherry to their 40-man reserve list.

 

All players still remaining on a Cubs minor league roster will remain “frozen” (cannot be added to the 40-man roster and cannot be traded) until after the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft, which will be held on December 7th at the MLB Winter Meetings. If any player currently on a Cub minor league roster is to be part of a trade consummated sometime in the next couple of weeks, that player will have to be identified as a”Player to be Named Later” (PTBNL), and cannot be named until the Rule 5 Draft concludes.

 

Although players on minor league rosters are now “frozen,” players on major league 40-man rosters are not. Players on MLB 40-man rosters can be traded, and players on MLB 40-man rosters can even be assigned outright to the minors during the “frozen” period. Also, free-agents can be signed to minor league contracts and can be assigned to a minor league club during this period.

By adding Rapada and Cherry, the Cubs would seem to now have 42 players on their 40-man roster, which (of course) is not allowed. So the only obvious explanation is that apparently Mark DeRosa and Alfonso Soriano have yet to be officially added to the Cubs roster, because no other roster moves were made today. Some of you may remember the same thing happened last year when Bob Howry was signed as a free-agent, but wasn’t officially added to the Cubs 40-man roster for several days. But at least two more roster moves will need to be made in the near future, possibly by means of a a two-fer-one or three-fer-one trade for a starting pitcher.

 

A lanky side-armin’ slinger who is death on left-handed hitters, the 25-year old Rapada was THE best reliever I saw in the Arizona Fall League this year. I believe he can pitch in the big leagues right now. Signed out of Virginia State University by Cubs “bird dog” scout Billy Swoope in 2002, Rapada is notable for being a one-time “Non-drafted Free-Agent” (NDFA) who made good.

 

Cherry, 27, was drafted by the Cubs out of the University of Oklahoma in the 14th round of the 2002 Rule 4 Draft (June Draft), but didn’t sign until January 2003. He made his pro debut at Boise that season. The Rock underwent Tommy John transplannt surgery in 2005, after suffering a torn elbow ligament. A starter earlier in his career, Cherry returned to action this season, working out of the bullpen at AA West Tenn (Cherry and Rapada were an extremely effective 1-2 punch out of the DiamondJaxx pen). Like Rapada, Cherry pitched well-enough to earn a mid-season promotion to AAA Iowa. Showing a mid-90’s heater and a devastating breaking ball, Rocky was supposedly about to be called up to the Cubs when he suffered a season-ending finger injury that required surgery.

 

Among the notables not added to the Cub 40 at this time include pitchers Carmen Pignatiello, Lincoln Holdzkom, Randy Wells, and Federico Baez, catcher Jake Fox, and third-baseman Casey McGehee. Each will be eligible for selection by the other 29 MLB clubs at the upcoming Rule 5 Draft

 

per TCR.

 

Interesting, and it does add some credibility that there is a deal in place, just waiting for the RIGHT time to announce it.

[ChiCubsFan]

Is Rapada pretty much Will Ohman? I'm hoping a Ohman, Izturis, and Novoa for Westbrook trade gets announced tomorrow. Probably would take more (in quality), but I can hope.

[WrigleyField 22]

The Cubs.com roster now stands at 37.

 

Dopirak, Negron, Harben and O'Malley are no longer listed.

 

:( on Dope and Harben

 

Now someone can claim them and only needs to hold them on the 40 right?

 

You forgot to hit the 40man tab, they are still there.

[Laura]

The Cubs.com roster now stands at 37.

 

Dopirak, Negron, Harben and O'Malley are no longer listed.

 

:( on Dope and Harben

 

Now someone can claim them and only needs to hold them on the 40 right?

 

You forgot to hit the 40man tab, they are still there.

 

Argh, thought I did. I'm an idiot.