Cubs Roster Moves: Sweeney and Dolis Up, Sappelt Down, Loe Out

On Monday afternoon, in advance of the make up game with the Rangers at Wrigley, the Cubs announced a set of moves to get a couple of new faces on the 25 man roster. Rafael Dolis is actually no stranger to the Friendly Confines, having already been called up for one game earlier in April and having a 34 game stint in the Majors with the Cubs last season.

May 6, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Ryan Sweeney before the game against the Texas Rangers at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Dolis will take Kameron Loe’s spot in the bullpen, with the 6 foot 8 inch Loe being designated for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster for Ryan Sweeney. Loe was a waiver wire pick up from the Mariners on the eve of tax day last month after giving up eight runs in four games for a 10.80 ERA with Seattle. The tall righty was slightly better once he put on the Cubs pinstripes, contributing three scoreless innings in his first three outings before slipping back to his old ways in his final four appearances.

Loe leaves with a 5.40 ERA in Cubs blue and Dale Sveum hopes that number 50 will clear waivers so that the North Siders can stash him away in Triple A to work on his mechanics. Sweeney was a minor league signing after the Red Sox let him go at the end of March. The lefty bat had been destroying Triple A pitching, hitting .337 with six long balls and several extra base hits to go with his 16 RBI in just a month’s worth of games.

It should be no surprise to Cub fans to see Dave Sappelt being sent back down to the minors to make room in the outfield depth chart for Sweeney, but the fact that the argument for selecting Sappelt over Brian Bogusevic was stated as right handed versus left handed makes it interesting to see the left handed Sweeney get the nod. Then again, the only right handed hitting option in AAA is Darnell McDonald.

It will be interesting to see how manager Sveum will get Sweeney some playing time and at bats. The outfielder is capable of playing all three spots in front of the ivy, but he would not figure to take away starts from David DeJesus or Nate Schierholtz. Sweeney will likely see his at bats as a pinch hitter and as a left handed option to spell veteran Alfonso Soriano in left field. Sappelt had options remaining, so he will take Sweeney’s place in the Triple A outfield cast.