Infielder Blake DeWitt must decide on whether he'll accept an outright assignment off of the Chicago Cubs' 40-man roster or become a free agent by Wednesday, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago. The former Dodger was designated for assignment last month after the Cubs claimed infielder Adrian Cardenas off waivers from the Oakland Athletics.
After being designated for assignment in January, the 26-year-old went unclaimed on waivers. By accepted the outright assignment, DeWitt will be removed from Chicago's 40-man roster, but he'll still receive the one-year, $1.1 million contract that both sides agreed upon to avoid arbitration weeks ago.
By choosing to become a free agent, DeWitt would forfeit the contract with the Cubs and become eligible to sign with any of the 30 MLB teams. Generally speaking, teams don't expect him to be able to command something similar to the $1.1 million that he agreed to receive from Chicago, so he'll likely accept the outright assignment.
Even while being removed from the 40-man roster, DeWitt would still be invited to Spring Training with an opportunity to make the Opening Day roster.
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