Cubs designate Carlos Marmol for assignment

When the season began, the Cubs had some hope that Marmol would pitch well enough in relief that they could get flip him for something resembling a prospect at the trade deadline. While Marmol’s $9.8 million salary was likely to keep Chicago from receiving anyone of real value in exchange for him -- especially considering his 6.7 walks per nine innings over the last four seasons -- a solid first half might have at least gotten them a warm body.

Marmol struggled right out of the gate, however, and lost his closing gig just five games into the season. The right-hander settled down for a while after that and got a few more chances with the game on the line, but ultimately he could not avoid the blow-up outing. Marmol put up a 5.86 ERA in 27⅔ innings on the year, allowing six home runs in that span.

It is highly unlikely that anyone will agree to take on Marmol’s salary, so don’t look for him to be a waiver claim anytime soon, so there’s the strong possibility that they will have to release him and eat the salary.

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