Cubs release Josh Staumont – MLB transfer rumors

The Cubs have released the reliever Josh Staumont of his minor league contract, tweets Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. It's not clear if the right-hander has triggered an opt-out clause or if the Cubs simply decided not to call him up.

In any case, Staumont returns to the market just two weeks after signing with Chicago. The 30-year-old pitched twice for Chicago's top affiliate in Iowa, walking five batters and recording just three outs. Staumont had posted a much more impressive 16-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10 2/3 innings with the Twins' top affiliate earlier in the season. In his very small sample size in Iowa, he clearly had no control whatsoever.

Staumont, a former second-round pick of the Royals, pitched parts of five seasons for Kansas City. He posted an above-average strikeout rate of 26.2% but walked more than 13% of batters in 168 1/3 innings. The Royals did not sign him last winter. Staumont signed a major league contract with Minnesota that guaranteed him $950,000. He played 25 times for the Twins, pitching to a 3.70 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. His walks remained high and his strikeout rate dropped sharply to 17.6%, so Minnesota released him when they acquired him Trevor Richards at the close of trading.

Staumont's camp can once again look for minor league opportunities over the next few weeks. He would need to sign with a team by Sept. 1 to be eligible for the postseason with his new club, though that is secondary to working his way back to the majors.