ADD RIOS TO MIX, SHIFT ROBERTS TO IL
MESA, ARIZ. — The Cubs signed corner infielder Edwin Rios to a one-year contract Friday. The deal is worth $1 million, according to a source.
Rios already was with the team at its springtraining site when the deal became official.
In a corresponding move, the Cubs put right-handed reliever Ethan Roberts, who’s coming back from Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day injured list.
Rios, a left-handed hitter, joins a position battle at third base that already includes Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal and Zach McKinstry. He also deepens the Cubs’ options at first base and can play the corner outfield. He has a minor-league option year remaining, along with two more years of club control after this season.
In four years with the Dodgers, Rios played a total of 112 games. He was slashing .244/.293/.500 with seven home runs last year before a hamstring injury and a trip to the 60-day IL in early June. When he returned, the Dodgers optioned him to Triple-A.
Roberts was an obvious IL candidate. He’s in the fourth week of his throwing program, stretched out to 75 feet on flat ground. He told the Sun-Times he’s targeting a full return about 14 months post-operation, which would be in September.
“It sucks — I put the team in a bad spot with me being on the IL for a year and a half,” Roberts said. “It’s terrible. But this organization has been really good to me. Fans have been awesome. And I’m gonna make it up to them. It’s going to be fun. Just got to give me a little bit of time, but I’m going to make it up to everybody.”
CROSSED SIGNALS?
PitchCom is evolving, with MLB now permitting pitchers to wear devices to call their own pitches, rather than catchers always flashing signs to pitchers. Although much of the Cubs’ staff has given PitchCom positive reviews since implementing it last year, the two-way system isn’t that simple.
“The one thing we just get concerned about is if the pitcher’s hitting it and the catcher’s hitting it at the same time and stuff ’s getting relayed back and forth,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “[Before], the catcher would put down a sign, a guy would shake — there’s a direct line of communication. When it’s just people hitting buttons, things can get a little disconnected.”
Fulmer sighting
Reliever Michael Fulmer sat in front of a locker bearing his name in the clubhouse Friday. But the Cubs had yet to clear a spot on the 40-man roster to make his signing official. Fulmer is joining the team on a one-year, $4 million contract, a source confirmed.