The Cubs have sent veteran infielder outright to Triple-A Iowa, according to his on MLB.com. He had been designated for a signment on Friday when the Cubs off of waivers from the Diamondbacks. Bote has the right to reject an outright a signment in favor of free agency. However, he is a few days shy of the five years of MLB service time he would need to reject the a signment without forfeiting the guaranteed salary remaining on the five-year, $16MM contract he signed with the Cubs during the 2019 campaign. With just under 20% of the season left to play, Wes Iwundu Jersey that works out to about $1.05MM in salary this year, plus a $1MM buyout on his club option for 2025. Thats significantly more money than Bote could command if he elected free agency and signed on with a new team, so he will almost certainly accept the a signment and report to the Iowa Cubs. In 37 games for the Chicago Cubs this year, Bote hit .304 with a 105 wRC+ over 48 plate appearances. He spent most of his time playing third base, though he also filled in at first and second. Despite his positional versatility and solid offensive numbers off the bench, he was an easy choice for the Cubs to DFA when they needed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. Not only has he struggled over the past month (2-for-12 since the All-Star break), but given his unique contract situation, the Cubs knew they could remove him from the roster without the risk of losing him completely. Thus, he will continue to serve as additional depth for the team at Triple-A, where he has 37 doubles, 21 home runs, and a 109 wRC+ in 126 games over the past two seasons. Tracy McGrady Jersey