The Cubs announced a number of 40-man roster moves Friday, in anticipation of the upcoming December 8 Rule 5 draft (hat tip: Baseball Diamond News). The players added to the roster were:

• 1B Brian Dopirak. Big, tall right-handed first baseman. Went from .307/.363/.593 numbers for low-A Lansing in 2004 to .235/.289/.381 numbers for high-A Daytona in 2005. It was a very disappointing season for him.

• 3B Scott Moore. Moore was the 8th overall pick of the 2002 draft, selected by the Detroit Tigers. He disappointed them, though, and the Cubs acquired Moore in the Kyle Farnsworth trade. He played well for high-A Daytona in 2005, hitting .281/.358/.485. He did strike out 134 times in 466 at-bats, consistent with his previous minor league numbers.

• OF Felix Pie. The jewel of the Cubs' minor league system. He hit .304/.349/.554 for double-A West Teen last year as a 20-year-old, in a half-season before being sidelined with a deep bone bruise to the inside of his right ankle. Rumors of his return kept propping up, but it never happened. Pie is right now what Corey Patterson was after the 2000 season. He is playing winter ball right now, and will certainly be given a look in spring training, before likely being sent to Iowa.

• C Jose Reyes. Reyes hit .257/.314/.317 for West Tenn last year in 97 games. Those were the best numbers of his minor league career. He's a defense guy. The Cubs already have Geovany Soto, who hits a little better, on the roster. I can't explain adding Reyes, too.

• P Carlos Marmol. Another catcher. Except the Cubs made him a pitcher. In 72.1 innings for high-A Daytona last year, Marmol had a 2.99 ERA in 72.1 innings, with 71 K's and 37 BB's. The Cubs then promoted Marmol to West Tenn, where he posted a 3.65 ERA in 81.1 innings, with 70 K's and 40 BB's. This followed a 3.20 ERA season for low-A Lansing in 2004. He needs to lower his walk rate to continue to be effective at higher levels.

• P Sean Marshall. Marshall is a 6'6" left-handed starter. He had a 2.74 ERA in 69 innings for Daytona and a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings for West Tenn in 2005. He struck out a total of 85 batters and walked 31. Marshall's success at West Tenn this year was important, after he struggled there following a promotion from Lansing in 2004. Marshall's 2004 Lansing line is a sight to behold, however: 7 starts, 48.2 innings, 1.11 ERA, 29 hits, 51 K's, and just 4 walks. Marshall should be in West Tenn's rotation in 2006.

• P Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco repeated West Tenn in 2005 after a failed call-up to Iowa in 2004. He finished 2005 with a 2.89 ERA (3rd in the Southern League) in 161.2 innings, with 173 K's and 46 BB's. Nolasco has been solid wherever he has been in the Cubs' system, excepting his unfortunate 40 innings over 9 starts for Iowa in 2004 (9.30 ERA).

• P Jae Kuk Ryu. Ryu, a 6'3" right-handed Korean, gave West Tenn, along with Nolasco and Renyel Pinto (already on the 40-man roster), a third pitcher in the top 7 ERA leaders in the Southern League in 2005. Ryu had a 3.34 ERA in 169.2 innings, with 133 K's and 49 BB's. It was a solid season after suffering some elbow problems in 2004. Nolasco and Ryu should be in Iowa's rotation next season.

The Cubs outrighted Mike Fontenot, Richard Lewis, and Russ Rohlicek to Iowa. It is possible these players will return to Iowa next season or become free agents. The Cubs also designated for assignment Adam Greenberg. It's for Greenberg's best; the Cubs are not an organization that sees the value of someone like Greenberg: a patient hitter who plays good defense. Look for Greenberg to eventually latch on (by 2007) to a team as a backup outfielder. At least let us hope that Greenberg does not leave the game someday as the only player in its history whose only big league action is facing one pitch, which pitch hit him in the head. The Cubs had called up Greenberg in July, along with Matt Murton, to provide a spark, in place of Corey Patterson and Jason Dubois.

The Cubs received Fontenot from Baltimore in the Sammy Sosa trade. He had a cup of coffee with the big league club in May. As Brian C advocated in July, Fontenot should have had more time with the big league club, at the expense of Jose Macias. Fontenot hit .272/.377/.430 for Iowa in 379 at-bats and 59 walks. Unfortunately, with the Cubs' outrighting of Fontenot and Macias being eligible for arbitration, we are likely stuck with Macias again, who will be more expensive than Fontenot and not as good.

Rohlicek had a 2.09 ERA for West Tenn in 2004 in 69 innings of relief, despite walking 42 batters, so the Cubs protected him last offseason instead of fellow tall lefty Andy Sisco. That didn't quite work out, unless you are a Kansas City Royals' fan. Rohlicek followed up his 2004 season by again walking too many people, and triple-A hitters took advantage. He had a 4.33 ERA for Iowa in 62.1 innings.

Lewis has taken a serious fall. From the 2004 Southern League MVP to being outrighted after 2005. Lewis got off to a terrible start at Iowa in 2005. He finished the year at .217/.277/.300 in 87 triple-A games. The Cubs had received Lewis, a 2001 1st round draft pick, from Atlanta in the Juan Cruz trade before the 2004 season.

Baseball Diamond News notes Bobby Brownlie and Brandon Sing as possible losses after they were not added to the roster. However, after the Cubs failed to put Sing on the 40-man roster in October, he became a six-year minor league free agent. As Inside the Ivy's Walker Nicholas reported October 28, the Cubs have already signed Sing for the 2006 season. [Update: 'eljefe281', in the comments section at The Cub Reporter, says that Sing is still eligible for the Rule 5 draft after the Cubs didn't add him to the 40-man roster.] After 4 years of unexceptional production following the Cubs' drafting of him in the 20th round out of high school in 1999, he has been a hitting machine the past two seasons. He followed up a 970 OPS for Daytona in 2004 with a 942 OPS for West Tenn in 2005. He was old for both leagues, but those are still impressive numbers

Brownlie was the Cubs' 2002 1st round draft pick. They drafted him knowing that he had shoulder problems in college. Still, he was effective for Daytona in 2003 (before being shut down with, what else, shoulder pain) and for West Tenn in 2004. He was not so effective for Iowa in 2005, posting a 4.74 ERA in 104.1 innings. There have been reports (see here and here, e.g.) of Brownlie's loss of stuff, so perhaps that led to the Cubs' decision to expose him to the Rule 5 draft. I think someone will draft him.

As Rob Glowacki writes at The Cub Reporter, "Dopirak, Moore and Reyes are a waste of 40 man roster space." 'Arizona Phil' adds in the comments section at The Cub Reporter: "Jim Hendry still doesn't get it. You don't waste a spot on the 40-man roster (not to mention start a player's option clock ticking) if it's EXTREMELY unlikely that the player added to the 40-man roster will be taken in the Rule 5 Draft (as is the case with Reyes or Moore) or will be able to spend an entire season on some team's 25-an roster (as would be the case with Dopirak)."

We also have a situation where the Cubs are protecting position players with poor plate discipline and removing players with good plate discipline.