The Cubs released reliever from his minor league contract, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. Its not clear if the right-hander triggered an opt-out or if the Cubs simply decided they werent going to call him up. In either case, Staumont returns to the market just two weeks after signing with Chicago. The 30- Spencer Arrighetti Jersey year-old pitched twice for Chicagos top affiliate in Iowa. He walked five batters while recording only three outs. Staumont had run a much more impre sive 16:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 10 2/3 frames with the Twins top affiliate earlier in the season. He clearly did not have any kind of command in his very small sample in Iowa. A former second-round pick of the Royals, Staumont pitched parts of five seasons with Kansas City. He posted an above-average 26.2% strikeout rate but walked more than 13% of batters faced through 168 1/3 innings. The Royals non-tendered him last winter. Staumont signed a big league deal with Minnesota that guaranteed him $950K. He made 25 appearances for the Twins, working to a 3.70 ERA over 24 1/3 innings. His walks remained high and his strikeout rate dropped sharply to 17.6%, so Minnesota cut him loose when they brought in at the trade deadline. Staumonts camp can again look for minor league opportunities for the next few weeks. Hed need to sign with a team by September 1 to be eligible for postseason play with his new club, though thats a secondary consideration to pitching his way back to the majors. Jose Urquidy Jersey