Cubs sign B.J. Ryan to minor league contract
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WASHINGTON - The Chicago Cubs signed former Toronto closer B.J. Ryan to a minor league deal Thursday, hoping to add another left-hander to their bullpen.
Released by the Blue Jays earlier this month, the 33-year-old Ryan will first report to the Cubs' spring training complex in Mesa, Ariz. If all goes well, he'll join Triple-A Iowa.
The Cubs have only one left-handed reliever, Sean Marshall. Cubs manager Lou Piniella employed a unique strategy to keep Marshall in the game last weekend, moving him to left field when a righty reliever came in, then bringing him back to pitch one batter later.
"When they feel he's ready, we'll bring him up," Piniella said before the Cubs played at Washington. "We don't really have much left-handed depth in this organization."
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BJ Ryan Begins Rehab Stint
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It'll be interesting to see if the Cubs make any moves to help the beleaguered bullpen.
Speaking of left-handed relievers, B.J. Ryan made his Iowa debut tonight and pitched 1 inning at Omaha, giving up 1 walk in 1 inning. The former Blue Jays closer, whom the Cubs signed recently, threw 11 pitches, 5 for strikes. We'll see how many outings the Cubs give him before they determine he's ready. In the meantime, they'll continue seeing if the Pirates want to part with John Grabow or the Nationals want to trade Joe Beimel.
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