The Willie Banks rummage sale is officially under way.
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Ten days after they thought they had a deal to send Banks to the Montreal Expos, the Cubs were forced to shift gears and designated him Tuesday for assignment. What that means, essentially, is that Banks is off the 40-man roster–replaced by his friend, Anthony Young. But the Cubs have bought a little time.
They have 10 days to trade Banks, release him or clear him through waivers so he can be reassigned to the minor leagues. That almost certainly won’t happen.
As poorly as Banks has pitched–and his 15.43 ERA doesn’t even begin to cover it–he still has the raw talent that made him the third player chosen in the 1987 draft. Somebody will claim him if the Cubs try to clear him on waivers.
The best the Cubs can hope for is to trade him for a marginal prospect. They had been set to announce a deal that would have sent Banks to Montreal for third baseman Sean Berry, but the Expos were hit with a series of injuries to several key position players and couldn’t afford to give up Berry.
Before any of the Montreal players could get healthy again, Banks got a chance to pitch in Atlanta and promptly gave up three home runs and eight runs in all on three walks and eight hits. It was a truly frightening outing.
The cost: The Cubs gave up catcher Matt Walbeck and pitcher Dave Stevens to get Banks from Minnesota before the 1994 season. Stevens is 0-0 with one save and a 3.52 ERA at Triple-A Salt Lake City. Walbeck is with the Twins for a second consecutive season. He is hitting .270 with one homer in 33 games.