Cubs designate RHP Marmol for assignment, select outfielder Bogusevic

The Chicago Cubs today designated right-handed pitcher Carlos Marmol for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Brian Bogusevic.

Bogusevic will wear uniform number 66 and be available for the Cubs tonight when they start a three-game series in Milwaukee.

The 29-year-old Bogusevic joins the Cubs after batting .319 (83-for-260) with 14 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 32 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 78 games with Iowa this season. The left-handed batter and thrower turned in a .418 on-base percentage and a .512 slugging percentage, good for a .929 OPS.

This past offseason, Bogusevic signed a minor league contract with the Cubs that included an invite to big league spring training. He batted .410 (16-for-39) with a .452 on-base percentage, a .692 slugging percentage and a 1.144 OPS before being one of the final cuts of the spring.

Bogusevic spent all or part of three big league seasons with Houston (2010-12), including the entire 2012 season when he saw action in 146 games and hit .203 (72-for-355) with nine doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 28 RBI. The 6-foot-3, 219-pound Bogusevic was originally selected in the first round (24th overall) of the 2005 Draft as a left-handed pitcher but converted to outfield midway through the 2008 campaign.

Marmol, 30, went 2-4 with two saves and a 5.86 ERA (18 ER/27.2 IP) in 31 relief appearances this season. He struck out 32 and walked 21 batters in 27.2 innings pitched, an average of 10.4 strikeouts and 6.8 walks per nine innings.

The righthander originally signed with the Cubs as a non-drafted free agent on July 3, 1999. Signed as a catcher, Marmol converted to a pitcher prior to the 2003 season and made his big league debut in 2006. A National League All-Star in 2008 as a set-up man, Marmol holds the franchise mark with 82 career holds. Marmol became the closer in late 2009 and compiled 117 saves, third most in team history. Overall, he went 23-32 with a 3.50 ERA (211 ER/542.1 IP) in 483 appearances with the Cubs, 470 of the outings in relief.