The Chicago Cubs made a move today activating Miguel Montero from the disabled list, and in a corresponding move designated reserve outfielder Ryan Kalish for assignment.
Montero has been on the shelf since April 28th with lower back stiffness, but has been on a rehab assignment with AAA Iowa for the past few days going just 2-10 with three strikeouts.
Overall Montero had gotten off to a slow start in 2016 hitting just .208/.316/.333 in his 57 plate appearances before going on the DL, but his presence is still a boost for the Cubs as he is well regarded as a good defensive catcher with great pitch framing skills.
Kalish was a late signing by the Cubs as he joined the team right before they started playing Spring Training games. He had his contract purchased by the Cubs when Matt Szczur went on the disabled list after hitting .368/.471/.509 in 70 plate appearances for the Iowa Cubs.
Dumping Kalish for Montero is an interesting move because the Cubs already have catchers David Ross and Tim Federowicz on the active roster, but they have a ton of positional flexibility on the roster with Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Tommy La Stella, and Ben Zobrist so they probably figured they could role with three catchers.
