Chicago Cubs Claim Royals Infielder Jeff Bianchi

The overall goal of the Cubs’ front office is to acquire talent. Whether on the major league roster, the triple-A roster, double-A roster, or class A roster, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer are intent on adding talented players to every level of the Cubs’ organization. Though it seems that more of he focus will be adding talent to upper levels of the Cubs’ minor league system. With the Rule V Draft and the recent trade for Ian Stewart being an indicator, it seems clear that Epstein and Hoyer are not too fond of the prospects that were developed under former general manager Jim Hendry’s regime. Tyler Colvin, DJ LeMahieu, Ryan Flaherty, and Marwin Gonzalez were all players that were developed under Hendry’s watch and prospects that the Cubs’ former general manager had an admiration for, but now those four players are no longer with the organization.

In an effort to re-tool the Cubs’ minor league system, the Chicago Cubs’ a made minor move on Friday. The team decided to claim Kansas City Royals’ infielder Jeff Bianchi off waivers and consequently add him to the Cubs’ 40 man roster. Bianchi was drafted by the Royals in the second round of the 2005 Amateur draft.

In his six seasons in the Royals’ minor league system, Bianchi,25, produced a .281/.335/.410/.744 clip to go along with 76 stolen bases, and 382 strikeouts to 148 walks in 490 games. 2o11 was a bounce-back season for Bianchi as he spent all of the 2010 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, Bianchi hit .259/.320/.333/.654 with 20 stolen bases in 119 games in his first full season the Royals’ double-A affiliate.

This move is nothing more than the Cubs’ adding athleticism to their farm system and adding more depth after losing two position players to the Rule V draft. Bianchi has played at both the shortstop and second base positions during his time in the Royals’ organization.