Chicago Cubs: Rafael Soriano placed on 15-day DL; Clayton Richard re-signs

This is a familiar tale that I’ve heard before with a seemingly healthy pitcher heading to the DL

Baseball has a strange way of working things out on its own. The Chicago Cubs took a chance and purchased the rights for Clayton Richard from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he responded well in three starts by posting a 2-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 18 innings. His only bad outing was in relief of Jason Hammel when he was forced to leave the game early with a hamstring issue against the Cardinals.

Now the Cubs have placed Rafael Soriano on the 15-day DL due to right shoulder inflammation and re-signed Richard and placed him on the roster. There’s something very familiar about this situation. There’s no secret that Cubs fans were excited about bringing Soriano in. But things can change quickly with Cubs’ fans. We sour quickly. Even us here at Cubbies Crib.

Is Soriano suffering from a shoulder issue. Very possible. Cubs’ skipper Joe Maddon felt he wasn’t loose yet and throwing his best. But just a bit under a year ago, this happened to another Cubs pitcher. Although I’m not a big fan, I did become a conspiracy theorist for a bit.  Although Edwin Jackson is gone, feel free to go back and see my thoughts.

So suddenly, Soriano is having some shoulder issues, and the Cubs were disappointed they had to let Clayton Richard go. It’s also funny that once Richard made it through waivers and elected for free agency that this move happened.

More from Chicago Cubs News

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So is it possible the Cubs realized their mistake in having Soriano up too soon? As well as possibly losing Richard’s services? Again, it could really be a shoulder issue and dumb luck that the Cubs were able to re-sign Richard, but I’m really feeling like there’s something more going on here. I feel like this is some crafty roster management by the front office.

This Cubs team is hitting its stride. Maddon said he felt there best baseball was yet to come, and it looks like he was right. Not only are they winning, but they can put direct pressure on the Pirates with another win tonight. Some feel the Pirates are the best possibility for a “lock” of the Wild Card competitors.

There’s a bunch of kids in Chicago that beg to differ.

Next: Cubs could have a closer-in-waiting in Hunter