Darwin Barney designated for assignment by Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have designated Darwin Barney for assignment and will have 10 days to work out a trade for the Gold Glove second baseman.
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With Emilio Bonifacio activated off the disabled list on Tuesday, Barney was made expendable, especially with the promotion of outfielder Arismendy Alcantara who is likely to remain with the club for the remainder of the season.
Further, it could signal a promotion for one of the club’s top prospects receiving a promotion later this fall in Javier Baez who shifted from his shortstop position to second base in recent days, a position that is now wide open and waiting for Baez to take the starting job for the next decade.
Barney’s lack of offense held him back in recent years where he dipped to a career-low .208 in 2013 and is currently hitting .230 with two home runs and 16 runs batted in. He has been the team’s everyday second basemen since 2011 and won the Gold Glove in 2012 when he only had two errors and posted a .997 fielding percentage.
The Cubs have reportedly been linked to a number of different teams in the past two seasons in connection with a Barney trade as he could be a valuable utilityman for a contender over the final two months of the season.
He has experience at shortstop as well as second base and can be at the very least a defensive replacement if not a spot-starter for a middle infielder on a contending team and the Cubs will try to acquire a low-level minor leaguer to facilitate a deal for Barney.