CHICAGO - The Chicago Cubs today recalled infielder Jake Fox and selected the contracts of infielder Andres Blanco and left-handed pitcher Jason Waddell from Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs optioned left-handed pitcher Neal Cotts and infielder Bobby Scales to Triple-A Iowa. Additionally, the club placed infielder Aaron Miles on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 26, with a right shoulder strain.
Blanco will wear uniform number 13, Fox will wear number 5 and Waddell will wear number 43. All three are available for this afternoon’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. Chicago’s 40-man roster now stands at 38 players.
Fox, 26, is leading all minor league players this year in the “Triple Crown” categories with a .423 batting average (63-for-149), 17 home runs and 50 RBI in 40 games for Iowa. The right-handed batter also has 40 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, a .503 on-base percentage, a .886 slugging percentage and a 1.389 OPS this season. He has seen action at first base, third base, left field, right field, catcher and designated hitter this season. Fox has twice earned Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors for the periods ending April 19 and May 17.
Originally selected by the Cubs in the third round of the 2003 Draft, Fox joins the Cubs riding a 17-game hitting streak during which he batted .453 (29-for-64) with five home runs and 19 RBI.
Fox last appeared in the big leagues in 2007 when he made his major league debut and batted .143 (2-for-14) with two doubles, three runs scored and one RBI in seven games for the Cubs.
Blanco, 25, is batting .314 (48-for-153) with nine doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI in 43 games for Iowa this season. The switch-hitter is batting .342 (39-for-114) against right-handed pitching and has a .364 mark (16-for-44) with runners in scoring position. Blanco has played exclusively at shortstop in the field this season.
Signed by the Cubs as a minor league free agent following the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Blanco has played in 78 career major league games with the Kansas City Royals covering parts of three campaigns (2004-06), batting .252 (57-for-226) with six doubles, four triples and 19 RBI. Blanco has played shortstop (51 games) and second base (31 games) at the major league level.
Waddell, 27, joins the first major league roster in his nine-year professional career. He is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA (10 ER/16.2 IP) in 18 relief appearances, limiting right-handed batters to a .205 average (8-for-39) while lefties have batted .346 (9-for-26) off the southpaw. The 2009 campaign marks his first pitching above the Double-A level. He had 270 minor league appearances, all but 13 in relief, prior to his call-up today. He was originally selected by San Francisco in the eighth round of the 2001 Draft and spent his first eight professional seasons in the Giants minor league system.
Signed by the Cubs as a minor league free agent last November 21, Waddell attended camp as a non-roster invitee and spent nearly the entire spring training season with the major league club. He posted a 0.90 ERA (1 ER/10.0 IP) in 11 Cactus League relief appearances.
Cotts was a member of Chicago’s Opening Day roster and is 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA (9 ER/11.0 IP) in 19 relief appearances this season.
Miles is batting .204 (20-for-98) with six doubles and four RBI in 37 games for the Cubs this year.
Scales is hitting .257 (9-for-35) with two doubles, one triple, one home run and five RBI in 14 games for the Cubs this season. The 31-year-old had his contract selected from Iowa on May 4 and made his major league debut the next day, collecting his first big league hit off Tim Lincecum. Scales is batting .303 (23-for-76) with five doubles, a triple, three homers and 10 RBI in 21 games for Iowa this season
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