It was a quick, ugly ride for Jake Woodford in Chicago. The right-hander signed a major league deal with the Cubs on July 4, with the club designating fellow reliever Bryse Wilson for assignment to clear the spot. A week later, Woodford was the one getting DFA'd, and now MLB Trade Rumors confirms he's been run through outright waivers and cleared, meaning he's off the 40-man for good unless he elects to stick around in the minors.
MLB Trade Rumors broke the news that Woodford has cleared outright waivers.
The on-field sample size was brutal and brief. Woodford made exactly one appearance for the Cubs, getting torched for 3 earned runs on 5 hits over 2 innings in a loss to the Reds, including a home run allowed. That's not much of an audition, but it was enough. When Phil Maton was ready to return from the injured list, Woodford became the corresponding move off the roster.
This is the kind of churn that happens constantly in the back of a bullpen during the summer grind, especially for a team like the Cubs trying to piece together innings ahead of the trade deadline. Woodford, a former Cardinals prospect who's bounced around several organizations, now has the right to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the minors, and given how thin pitching depth gets around the league in late July, he probably won't be searching for work long.
For the Cubs, the move is a footnote more than a headline, but it's a reminder of how volatile the 40-man roster gets this time of year. Every warm body brought in to soak up a spot start or mop-up relief inning is one bad outing away from being squeezed out by the next injury return or trade-deadline addition. Woodford's stint lasted exactly a week from signing to DFA, and now it's officially over in Chicago.