Cubs Sign Andy Sonnanstine

The Cubs front office continued to be busy despite the Christmas holiday weekend. While many Cubs fans were probably taking advantage of the day after Christmas sales, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did some bargain shopping of their own. Jordan already brought up the MLB Trade Rumor report of the Cubs being close to signing Jason Jaramillo to a minor league deal, and the Chicago Tribune is reporting that former Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine has also been signed.

Baseball fans may recall Sonnanstine’s solid 2007 season in which he went 13-9. Since then he has bounced around between the rotation and the bullpen, and even the Majors and Triple A while with the Rays. Sonnanstine figures to be given a shot to compete for a spot in the rotation or the bullpen as the Cubs front office continues to look at cost effective ways to add depth to the pitching staff.

Sonnanstine would still be arbitration eligible for 2013, so if he can have a decent bounce back season in 2012, the Cubs would have him under team control for one more year. The righty joins Manny Corpas in the split contract department.