By Jeff Sullivan – Editor

Read More: Doug Davis (P – MIL), Chicago Cubs

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Apr 12, 2011 - Having released Carlos Silva and wound up with a couple starting pitchers on the disabled list, the Chicago Cubs have had their rotation depth put to the test early in the season. On Tuesday, they’ve made a move to bolster said depth, signing veteran Doug Davis to a minor league contract.

Davis will report to extended spring training to get stretched out, but he’ll be given an excellent shot to make it to the bigs down the road. In that event, he’ll earn a $900,000 prorated salary, and his contract contains bonuses giving the deal a maximum value of nearly $2 million. So an effective Davis could make some bank.

The 35-year-old lefty is coming off elbow surgery, and posted a 7.51 ERA in 38.1 innings with the Brewers last season. Over the six years before that, though, Davis made 196 starts and posted an ERA of 4.12, so he isn’t without his hope so long as his walks don’t get out of control.

By Brian Floyd

Read More: Carlos Silva (P – CHC), New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs

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Apr 9, 2011 - Chicago Cubs castoff Carlos Silva has found a landing spot, signing a minor league deal with the New York Yankees on Saturday. Silva and the Cubs had an apparent falling out during spring training and Silva was sent packing before the beginning of the regular season. Public statements ripping the organization over his place with the team didn’t go over well, causing general manager Jim Hendry to outright release Silva while issuing a strongly worded statement. 

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman reported the news before Ken Rosenthal swooped in to tweet the details, including what the minor league contract means for the Cubs.

Silva minor-lg deal with Yankees, as first reported by @SI_JonHeyman. Will report to Tampa on Wed. #Cubs owe him 11.5M plus 2M buyout on mutual option. #Yankees will be responsible only for major-lg minimum with #Cubs paying rest if he is added to roster.

A minor league deal comes with virtually no risk for the Yankees, who can give Silva another shot at a small cost while the Cubs eat the bulk of his salary.

For more on the Silva’s new home, check out SB Nation’s Pinstripe Alley.

MESA, Ariz., March 27 (UPI) — Veteran Chicago Cubs starter Carlos Silva was officially released Sunday, a day after he said he wouldn’t report to the minors.

The Cubs said Silva was granted his unconditional release Sunday and is free to negotiate with another squad after spending one season with the team.

Cubs Manager Mike Quade chose Andrew Cashner as the team’s fifth starter Saturday, leaving the 31-year-old Silva off the team’s 25-man roster. But the sinkerballer told reporters at a spring training game in Surprise, Ariz., he wasn’t going to go to Class AAA Iowa.

“No chance,” Silva told MLB.com. “That’s not in my mind right now, not at all. I’m not an insurance player. My guess is that’s what they want.”

“I wish the best for him,” Quade said. “If he can pitch somewhere, that would be fantastic.”

Silva, who was one of the team’s more dependable pitchers last year going 10-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 starts, struggled this spring, logging a 1-2 record with a 10.90 ERA over 17 1/3 innings.

He sports a 70-70 record and a 4.68 ERA over a nine-year career with Philadelphia, Minnesota, Seattle and the Cubs.

I come here not to praise Carlos Silva(notes) but instead to bury the Chicago Cubs for how it appears they handled telling him that he was no longer welcome on the team.

I’m not taking Silva’s side — heavens, no — but he apparently is too dense with conceit (that’s not a weight joke) to realize how the Cubs messed up.

By now you probably heard about them telling Silva that if he wanted to stay in the organization, he must either accept a minor-league assignment or be put on the trading block.

And that if the Cubs could not trade Silva, who is in the last season of a $48 million contract, they would release him.

And, as you probably read or heard, Silva didn’t take the news too well, whining to the media in Mesa, Ariz., that he’s a major league player and the “competition” the Cubs set up among himself, Andrew Cashner(notes) and Braden Looper(notes) was a farce. (Cashner got the starting job, by the way, and right-hander Marcos Mateo(notes) got Silva’s roster spot.)

Silva fumed to reporters about new pitching coach Mark Riggins misleading him on where he stood, for essentially beating around the bush before dropping the bad news. Silva also took a shot, ironically, at the professionalism of Riggins, who had been a career minor league coach and manager before this season.

Basically, Silva showed a lack of class, along with a disconnect to reality. It was an emotional day for him, no doubt, but he also has a 5.87 ERA in 55 starts since signing that bloated deal with the Seattle Mariners before the 2008 season.

I don’t find fault with what Silva says Riggins told him, or how it must have come out of his mouth. Because it’s irrelevant.

What is relevant: The Cubs used a pitching coach to tell Silva the bad news.

GM Jim Hendry and manager Mike Quade also talked to Silva, but Riggins was the guy who made first contact. That’s irresponsible of the Cubs. It’s either Hendry’s duty, or it’s Hendry’s duty to make Quade do it. (It’s probably Hendry’s duty.)

But it sure isn’t Riggins’ place. Would a team ever use its hitting coach to tell a young shortstop he was going to the minors? They might as well have a trainer do it, or the traveling secretary. Major league teams don’t operate like that. Well, at least one does.

Maybe, if Larry Rothschild were still the pitching coach (his title was practically “manager of pitchers,” he had so much authority) they would have gotten him involved. Quade and Larry together, OK. Larry and Hendry, fine. Or all three. Mix and match.

But to have a rookie coach on the firing line by himself, it’s just not what good organizations do.

The Cubs have had other communication gaffes this offseason, including how they told Ryne Sandberg that Quade got the manager’s job. The front office just assumed Sandberg knew he was welcome back to manage the Cubs’ Class AAA team after being passed over. Sandberg was mostly cool about it in public, and he might have left anyway (Ryno works for the Phillies organization now), but his departure undoubtedly would have been on better terms.

Silva wasn’t having a good spring until his most recent start. He also got into a dugout scuffle with teammate Aramis Ramirez(notes). Silva also is not in shape. He’s never in shape.

He started the 2010 season on a roll, but his final five starts were disastrous. He missed some time with an irregular heart beat. Hey, at least they found one.

And lest the Cubs forget: Silva still has a start to make, against the Indians on Monday. It would be a showcase for other teams to see what he’s got. Silva would be hurting himself if he checked out of camp before making one more appearance with the Cubs.

Thanks to Seattle chipping in $6 million as part of the Milton Bradley deal (that’s got to be the “Sophie’s Choice” of trades) the Cubs owe Silva only $5.5 million in 2011, plus a $2 million buyout for the 2012 option. In order to move Silva, the Cubs had better be willing to absorb most, if not all, of what he is owed.

But all of that is beside the point. Cutting a veteran player, even one who plays poorly and acts like a jerk sometimes, is no small transaction. Imagine for a moment being GM of an MLB team, and you get a chance to cut an underachieving, overpaid goof with no self-awareness. Why wouldn’t you run to his locker?

Hendry should have told him. Not to make it easier on Silva, because the heck with him. It’s not about Silva’s feelings. It’s about being responsible for how the organization communicates. It’s one of a GM’s most important jobs.

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Related: Andrew Cashner, Carlos Silva, Aramis Ramírez, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners

Carlos Silva’s career with the Chicago Cubs is over, the veteran pitcher said Saturday.

According to general manager Jim Hendry, Andrew Cashner will begin the season as the team’s fifth starter.

Hendry said Silva will be given the option to go to Triple-A if he accepts a waiver assignment.

“No chance,” Silva said when asked if he’d go to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. “That’s not on my mind right now. Not at all. That’s like I’m an insurance player. I guess that’s what they want.”

If Silva decides to take his release, the Cubs are obligated to pay $11.5 million for his 2011 contract.

Silva took the news that he was beaten out for the fifth and final rotation spot from Hendry in stride. He wasn’t pleased, however, with the way pitching coach Mark Riggins talked around Silva’s role on the team.

“It’s like when you have something to say, be straight,” Silva said. “He has to learn he’s in the big leagues now. You know what I mean? The way he laid it out, I don’t know what he was trying to do. He talked about going out there and continue building and throw in some games. But when I told him I’m ready to pitch, and he said there’s no spot in the rotation or the bullpen.”

In recent weeks, teams have scouted Silva’s spring training starts. However, there has been little to no interest in acquiring him.

Silva had a 1-2 record and a 10.90 ERA in five spring appearances. On Wednesday, he allowed only one run in six innings against Oakland. Before that, his spring training composite was 29 hits and 20 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings and a 15.99 ERA.

Cashner beat out both Silva and Braden Looper for the fifth rotation spot. Upon hearing the news that he wouldn’t make the team’s big league roster, Looper announced his retirement Friday.

As for Silva, he had a different take on the situation.

“I knew it was a competition, and I have nothing against [Cashner],” Silva said. “He’s a great kid. But the way they laid out everything, [it wasn't] the right thing. [It wasn't] fair for either one [of us]. You know.”

Asked if he believed he had enough chances to make the team, Silva responded: “I had a lot of chances. But say what you have to say. That’s it. Don’t say people are competing for a spot because it wasn’t true. They already had their rotation down. It was very clear.”

Silva wants to continue pitching for another major league team. And he believes he can be a valuable addition.

“I feel really good,” Silva said. “If I get picked by another team, I’ll go there and do my best.”

With Marcos Mateo being named the seventh and final pitcher out of the Cubs’ bullpen, the only question on the roster becomes the backup catcher spot. According to multiple sources, Koyie Hill will win that job.

Also on Saturday, the Cubs optioned right-handed pitchers Casey Coleman and Jeff Stevens to Triple-A, leaving the current roster size at 28.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs for ESPNChicago.com.

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Chicago Cubs right-hander Carlos Silva has been told he will not be on the team’s 25-man roster when the season starts Friday.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry announced Saturday that Andrew Cashner will be the club’s fifth starter, leaving Silva without a spot. Hendry said Silva would be offered a minor league assignment, but Silva said there was “no chance” he would report to Triple-A Iowa.

If Silva opts to be released, the Cubs are on the hook for his $11.5 million salary this season.

Silva was 1-2 with a 10.90 ERA in five appearances this spring after going 10-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 starts last year in his first season with the Cubs.

Cashner started Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.