In a move that really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, the Cubs have released Munenori Kawasaki. The veteran middle infielder was thoroughly blocked and wasn’t even on the 40-man roster, though he could have reprised his role as an organizational depth guy and all-around awesome character.
The Cubs said they wanted to give Kawasaki the opportunity to explore other big league possibilities, but this move is also about giving the young guys as much playing time as possible. With the news that Ian Happ is going to open the season at AAA, there just wasn’t room at Iowa for the Japanese import.