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One of the casualties from the Chicago Cubs trimming their 40-man roster on Tuesday was first baseman and outfielder Bryan LaHair, who was designated for assignment. On Twitter, Cubs MLB beat reporter Carrie Muskat said the team is "pursuing opportunity for (LaHair) in Japan."
LaHair, 30, hit .259/.334/.450 with 16 home runs and 17 doubles in 2012, in 380 plate appearances, his best season of his three in the major leagues. He was selected as the All-Star Game representative for the Cubs for the 2012 game. LaHair signed as a free agent with Chicago in Nov. 2010, after spending nine seasons in Seattle's farm system.
The Cubs added right-handed pitchers Trey McNutt and Robert Whitenack and infielders Christian Villanueva and Logan Watkins to their 40-man roster on Tuesday, which was the last day teams could make changes to their roster before the Rule 5 draft, to be held Dec. 6 in Nashville at baseball's Winter Meetings.