The Chicago Cubs have designated 25-year old righty reliever Brian Schlitter for assignment. Schlitter missed all of the 2011 season due to an elbow injury. Schlitter pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Cubs in 2010 and he was 0-1 with a 12.38 ERA and a 2.88 WHIP. He gave up 18 hits (2 homers) and walked 7 batters in his 8 innings in the show. The Cubs aren’t going to miss Schlitter at all going forward.

UPDATE: (10/5/2011) - The Cubs have outrighted Brian Schlitter to AAA.

29-year old lefty reliever Sean Marshall has been outstanding once again in 2011 for the Cubs. Marshall has pitched in 77 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 6-6 with 5 saves, a 2.28 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now pitched in 157 games (0 starts) in his last two years as a full-time reliever and he is 13-11 with 6 saves, a 2.47 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Marshall has only given up 124 hits while whiffing 167 batters in his last two years with the Cubs in only 149 2/3 innings, which is pretty darn impressive. Marshall has now pitched in 291 games (59 starts) in his first six years with the Cubs and he is 32-40 with 7 saves, a 3.96 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Marshall is one of the best lefty relievers in all of baseball right now.

Since August 1st, 29-year old righty starting pitcher Randy Wells has gotten his act back together. Wells has started 10 games since August 1st, and he is 5-1 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has pitched in 22 games (all starts) overall this year for the Cubs and he is 7-5 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Wells has now pitched in 84 games (81 starts) in his first four years with the Cubs and he is 27-29 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He will likely have to fight for a spot in the Cubs’ starting rotation next spring.

The Cubs have shut down 34-year old righty reliever Kerry Wood for the rest of the season as he needs surgery on his left knee. Wood pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he was 3-5 with 1 save, a 3.35 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He only gave up 45 hits in 51 innings this year while whiffing 57 batters, so he showed in 2011 that he still has it. Wood has now pitched in 331 games (178 starts) in his 11 years with the Cubs and he is 80-66 with 35 saves, a 3.63 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Wood wants to return to the Cubs in 2012 and I think they should re-sign him as he looked good in 2011. But, if the Cubs don’t want him back, Wood has stated that he will retire.

27-year old righty reliever Justin Berg is going to have Tommy John Surgery tomorrow which will wipe out his 2012 season. Berg pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 0-0 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has now pitched in 60 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Cubs and he is 0-1 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. This won’t be a huge loss for the Cubs, but it would have been nice to have him around in the pen in 2012.

UPDATE: (9/29/2011) - The Cubs have designated Justin Berg for assignment.

UPDATE II: (10/5/2011) - The Cubs have outrighted Justin Berg to AAA.

33-year old lefty swinging 1B Carlos Pena doesn’t have much of a batting average this year, but he has provided good power and a great glove for the Cubs. The Yankees really wanted to deal for Pena at the trade deadline but the Cubs said no because they want to try to re-sign him for 2012 and beyond. Pena has played in 142 games for the Cubbies so far this year and he is 107 of 460 (.233 avg, .831 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 27 homers, 77 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Pena has whiffed 145 times already this year, but he has also walked 89 times which has helped the Cubs’ offense. Pena has now played in 1,215 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 978 for 4,080 (.240 avg, .840 OPS) with 627 runs scored, 257 homers, 727 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

The Cubs are thinking of moving 26-year old righty reliever Jeff Samardzija into the starting rotation. He will need to improve his control quite a bit if he’s going to consistently pitch into the 7th inning in 2012. Samardzija has pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 6-4 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has only given up 59 hits in his first 83 2/3 innings while whiffing 85 batters, which is impressive, but he has also walked a stunning 48 batters so far this year. Samardzija has now pitched in 122 games (5 starts) in his first 4 years for the Cubs and he is 10-9 with 1 save, a 4.52 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. It will be interesting to see what the Cubs decide to do with Samardzija in 2012 and beyond.

The Cubs traded a lot to get 27-year old righty starting pitcher Matt Garza from the Rays over the winter, so expectations were high for him in 2011. He has pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 8-10 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He has only given up 168 hits in his first 173 innings this year, while whiffing 175 batters and walking only 60 of them. Garza is finishing this year strongly. In his last seven starts (August & September), Garza is 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has been impressive and he will be a building block for the Cubs’ rotation in 2012.

Just 13 days ago, 25-year old righty swinging 2B Darwin Barney was hitting .293 for the Cubs. But, in his last 13 games, Barney is 4 for 43 (.093 avg) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 126 games for the Cubs this year and he is 128 for 466 (.275 avg, .662 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 2 homers, 40 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. If he doesn’t pick the pace back up with the bat, he’s going to have competition for his starting job next spring.

Last year, Ryan Dempster pitched in 34 games (all starts) for the Cubbies and he was 15-12 with a 3.85 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. With that in mind, the Cubs were expecting similar results in 2011, but that just hasn’t been the case. Dempster has pitched in 30 games (all starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 10-11 with a 4.74 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Dempster is likely going to be back in 2012 for the Cubs as he is very likely to exercise a player option. With that in mind, the Cubs hope that Dempster turns around next year as he didn’t pitch too well for them in 2011.