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Former Toronto Blue Jays infielder is now a free agent
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The Chicago Cubs released former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Jon Berti today, the veteran cleared waivers and is now a free agent.
After being designated for assignment earlier today by the Chicago Cubs, the club decided to out right release former Blue Jays infielder Jon Berti.
The Cubs in turn will carry three catchers on their active roster: Amaya, Carson Kelly and Reese McGuire.
«Essentially, we are prioritizing catcher depth,» Counsell said of the decision to DFA Berti. «We wanted to keep Reese. There was another move that had to be made with Miguel being healthy and ready to go.»
Jon Berti is now a free agent and looks to sign with a postseason contender
Berti, 35, signed with the Cubs in the offseason. He has long been a scrappy and versatile utility player in the bigs, playing almost every position on the diamond while stealing bases and often producing offense around league average.
He has hit just .210/.262/.230 in his 107 plate appearances this year. He hung around the roster as Shaw and other guys struggled. Workman was jettisoned long ago.
More recently, Shaw has started to click and the Cubs also added Willi Castro ahead of the deadline.
Berti came into this year with 97 steals, a .259/.337/.366 line and 95 wRC+ while playing everywhere except catcher and first base.
Without Berti, the Cubs are going with a three-catcher setup. While Amaya has been on the IL,
Carson Kelly has been the primary backstop, backed up by another former Blue Jay Reese McGuire.
No one in that trio can be optioned to the minors, so the Cubs are keeping all three of them, at least for now.
As I write this Amaya was carted off the field in the 7th inning at Rogers Centre after he tumbled over first base. The leg injury looks bad, so it looks like the cubs are back down to two catchers.
The Cubs' decision to move on from Berti once again speaks to the failed approach Jed Hoyer has to constructing a bench. Vidal Bruján's failed experiment was confirmed before the trade deadline, and Berti's 42 wRC+ left a lot to be desired this season.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 13 | 102 ANSWERS Former Toronto Blue Jays infielder is now a free agent Do you think former Blue Jays infielder Jon Berti will get picked up by another team? | ||
| Yes | 38 | 37.3 % |
| No | 32 | 31.4 % |
| Too early to tell | 32 | 31.4 % |
| List of polls | ||