As noted by Arizona Phil at The Cub Reporter, the Chicago Cubs yesterday removed two players from the 40-man roster by declining to tender them contracts for the 2007 season: RHP Adam Harben and C Jose Reyes.

The move allows the Cubs to finalize contracts with Daryle Ward and Jason Marquis, and add one more hitter.

The Cubs acquired Harben from the Minnesota Twins in the Phil Nevin trade. He did not pitch in the Cubs' system after the trade. He had a 3.96 ERA in 122.2 innings for the Twins' AA club prior to the trade, with 74 K's and 67 BB's. That was a fairly significant reduction in his K rate from previous seasons.

Reyes, who turns 24 in February, never should have been added to the 40-man roster last offseason. He had a 525 OPS for AA West Tenn last year in 47 games and a 653 OPS for AAA Iowa in 37 games. He had just 9 doubles all year, and failed to hit a home run.

The two could be re-signed to minor league contracts.