Randy

Wells

Wells, 23, was a 38th-round pick in 2002. It’s possible he’ll be the next pitcher promoted to the majors by the Cubs, though he doesn’t have the upside of some of the other arms the team has tried. Despite very good command, he’s probably not going to be able to survive as a starter at the major league level.

Wells was spotted a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning but served up solo shots in the seventh and eighth to fall to 7-6 on the year. He’s put together a nice second half, holding a 4.04 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 14 starts to give him some momentum heading into the offseason. He should be locked into a rotation spot for next year despite a 4.99 ERA and 1.39 WHIP for the season.

And with that, it appears that the Cubs will go with Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Paul Maholm, Chris Volstad and Jeff Samardzija in the starting rotation. Recent reports suggested that Wells could stick with the big club as a reliever, but the Cubs are better off keeping him stretched out as a starter in the minors. The 29-year-old right-hander is making $2.705 million this season, so it will be interesting to see whether the Cubs listen to trade offers.

Randy Wells filled in for Dempster on Sunday, and will do so again on Saturday against the Phillies. Assuming no setbacks, Dempster could return to the Cubs’ rotation by next weekend.

Wells struck out three and walked four in the game. He cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit, but the wheels fell off the train as the Phillies batted around in the fourth inning. Wells has been a fill-in in the Cubs rotation for the injured Ryan Dempster, but with Dempster due back on Thursday his future role with the Cubs is in jeopardy. He’ll either be demoted back to Triple-A Iowa or hang around as the long man in the bullpen.

As expected. Wells will get the ball Sunday in place of the injured Ryan Dempster. He takes the roster spot of Marlon Byrd, who has been traded to the Red Sox.

He struck out two. Wells is lucky he didn’t surrender more runs in his first start of 2012. In line for potentially just one more outing while Ryan Dempster recovers from a right quad strain, Wells isn’t worth a look outside of exceptionally deep NL-only leagues.

It’s a surprising statement even though Samardzija has had a terrific spring, posting a 2.70 ERA and 9/0 K/BB ratio over 10 innings. He seemed to have finally found a niche in the bullpen last season, and even when he’s gotten good results, Samardzija has always struggled with his control (career 5.3 BB/9). The righty was mostly a starter in the minors, but his results left something to be desired. We’re guessing the experiment won’t last long and Samardzija winds up back in the bullpen eventually. Randy Wells, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood and Rodrigo Lopez will fight for the last spot in the Cubs rotation. We like Wood most of the group, but he’s easily pitched the worst of the group this spring.

The Cubs summoned Wells from Triple-A Iowa on Friday and it sounds like he’ll be officially called up Sunday to replace Dempster. The 29-year-old will be looking to bounce back as a league-average starter.

He didn’t record a strikeout and has just one in 5 2/3 spring innings, but also hasn’t given up a run. Wells entered spring training technically in competition for a rotation spot, but he’ll have to pitch poorly to not break camp as one of the starting five, and obviously that hasn’t been the case so far.