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CHICAGO –Carlos Marmol and Steve Clevenger appear to be closing in on a return to the roster as both will head out this week on minor-league rehab assignments.

Clevenger, who has been out since April with a strained oblique and a cracked rib, took batting practice at Wrigley Field on Sunday and will take batting practice at Iowa on Monday. He will then start playing in games Tuesday, working his way up to nine innings by the end of the week.

Marmol, who has been out since May 12 with a right hamstring strain, will also be heading to Iowa on Monday. He will throw a side session Monday, a simulated game Wednesday and pitch in an actual game Fiday.

Neither is expected to return until the Cubs open their next home stand May 28 against the San Diego Padres.

Catcher Geovany Soto, who had arthroscopic surgery Friday on his left knee to repair a partially torn meniscus, was back at Wrigley Field on Sunday to begin his rehab process.

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo's much-anticipated debut in a Chicago Cubs uniform could come in less than three weeks.

The power-hitting and slick-fielding first baseman, who has been tearing up the Pacific Coast League with 14 home runs and a .353 batting average at Triple-A Iowa, could come in handy when the Cubs start playing at American League ballparks in a few weeks.

“Yeah that’s definitely going to be talked about,” manager Dale Sveum said when asked if it’s time to bring up Rizzo to help with a struggling offense. “He’s done everything he can down there. But once again, when you bring up somebody like that he has to play every day. That’s a million-dollar question now: How do we get that playing time?”

Rizzo isn’t about to send current first baseman Bryan LaHair to the bench and according to Sveum, Rizzo will not play anywhere but first. That would mean that LaHair moves to the outfield, but at the expense of who? Left field would be the logical spot, but that move isn’t so easy.

Despite the begging and pleading from fans, the Cubs aren’t about to quit on Alfonso Soriano right now, not when he is still owed his $19 million this year and $38 million over the next two seasons after that.

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CHICAGO -- Blake DeWitt has elected to remain with the Chicago Cubs organization, accepting his outright to Triple-A Iowa.

The Cubs designated DeWitt for assignment on May 6 in order to recall Travis Wood from Triple-A Iowa. Wood made one start in place of Matt Garza, who was suffering from the effects of a flu virus, and then was sent back down immediately after his outing.

DeWitt was not claimed by any other team after going through waivers. He could have declined his outright to Iowa and become a free agent, but he would have forfeited what was left of his $1.1 million deal for this season.

DeWitt is expected to report to Iowa on Friday.

It was the second time this year DeWitt could have opted out of his contract. He was taken off the 40-man roster in February when Adrian Cardenas was claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics. He elected to stay with the Cubs, though, and ended up making the big-league roster out of spring training.

In just 18 games this season, DeWitt batted .138 (4-for-29) with one RBI. DeWitt was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2010 trade deadline along with pitchers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach for Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot.

CHICAGO -- Blake DeWitt, who was designated for assignment earlier this month, cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa.

DeWitt can still decline the outright and become a free agent, but that move would void what is left of the $1.1 million deal he signed this past offseason.

The utility man batted .138 (4-for-29) in limited duty and was designated for assignment after Matt Garza came down with the flu and Travis Wood had to be recalled to take his spot in the rotation for a day.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Chicago Cubs announced that infielder Edgar Gonzalez, who didn’t make the big-league team out of spring training, has been released.

A Cubs spokesperson said Gonzalez will likely pursue options to play in Asia.

The 33-year-old middle infielder was batting .286 in nine games at Triple-A Iowa with three RBIs.

The Chicago Cubs are interested in offering pitcher Ramon Ortiz a minor league contract with an invite to major league spring training camp, according to a major league source.

Ortiz split time between Triple-A Iowa and the Cubs in 2011. He was 1-2 with a 4.36 ERA with Chicago (22 games) and 6-3 with a 4.26 ERA at Iowa (16 games).

Ortiz, 38, had his best year with the Angels in 2002, going 15-9 with a 3.77 ERA for the World Champions that season.

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said when he was hired on Oct. 21 that he wanted the pitching staff to go 10 deep in starting pitcher candidates.

The Chicago Cubs added four players to their 40-man roster on Friday: infielders Junior Lake and Josh Vitters from Double-A Tennessee, left-handed pitcher Jeff Beliveau from Tennessee and outfielder Matt Szczur from Single-A Daytona.

They also outrighted right-handed pitchers Esmailin Caridad and Kyle Smit and outfielder Lou Montanez off of the 40-man roster, which now stands at 34 players. Players on the 40-man roster are protected from the Dec. 8 Rule 5 draft.

Lake, a 21-year-old shortstop, had a strong 2011 Arizona Fall League season, batting .296 (34-for-115) with eight doubles, three triples, five home runs and 18 stolen bases in 28 games. Beliveau, 24, was named the Cubs 2011 Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Szczur, 22, is listed as the third-best prospect in the Cubs system by “Baseball America” while Vitters, 22, is ranked ninth by the publication.

Pacific Coast League MVP Bryan LaHair was the first call-up from the Chicago Cubs' minor league system as the period for roster expansion began on Sept. 1.

Any player on the team's 40-man roster is eligible for a September callup. In the case of LaHair, he was added to the team's 40-man roster, which stands at 38.

Manager Mike Quade said LaHair will play in the outfield and first base.

Andrew Cashner will be removed from the 60-day DL on Tuesday, when he'll be called up from Triple-A Iowa. He has one more rehab outing on Saturday and then will be added to the 40-man roster.

Other likely callups include infielder D.J. LeMahieu, and RHP Rafael Dolis, who is a closer at Double-A Tennessee.

Possible callups include LHP John Gaub and right-hander Alberto Cabrera.

It's unknown whether catchers Wellington Castillo or Steve Clevenger will be considered. Castillo has been on and off the DL.

Top prospect Brett Jackson is not on the 40-man roster. He's the Cubs' most attractive prospect, but with 22 games left on the schedule, would this be the right time to bring him to the majors?

The organization's philosophy has been to move Jackson up when he is ready to play at the major league level every day. This type of addition would be difficult for manager Mike Quade, who will have to tell Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd that their playing time may be severely cut for the last three weeks of the season.

"You figure out each day how you're going to do it," Quade said. "You talk to your veterans and you look for your opportunities while mixing and matching.

"I would argue that any experience at this level has got to help you down the road."

Quade's quandary is trying to win as many games as possible in order to give the next general manager of the team something to evaluate his 1-plus years as Cubs manager. The win-loss ledger is the final evaluation of any baseball man, and that situation may alter the way Quade uses his players.

Quade has one year remaining at $1 million for 2012.

PHOENIX -- In the opinion of Chicago Cubs management, the sky is the limit for 21-year-old Matt Szczur. The Cubs’ fifth-round draft pick in 2010 was recently promoted from low-A Peoria to high-A Daytona and it appears it’s for a good reason.

The 6-1, 195-pound Szczur was tearing up the Midwest League, hitting .321 with 20 extra-base hits and 18 stolen bases when the Cubs director of player personnel Oneira Fleita promoted the outfielder.

“I’ve had good support from the Cubs,” Szczur said before Sunday’s Futures Game at Chase Field in Phoenix. “I’ve been successful in Peoria and hopefully I’ll be successful in Daytona. “

The Cubs signed Szczur to a four-year contract worth more than $1 million to allow him to concentrate on baseball. Szczur was an all-purpose receiver at Villanova and a legitmate NFL prospect.

“I’m still learning the skill set in baseball,” Szczur said, “But I really think it’s coming for me. I played mostly football growing up, so I switched sports. The Cubs have been very supportive. They just want me to get experience and put the work in.”

Szczur could be a leadoff man in the big leagues, or hit further down in the order. The Cubs feel that he’ll be able to produce both speed and power as he progresses in his professional career.

“He’s an upper-tier runner in our organization already,” Fleita said. “And he has great hand-eye coordination. The way he’s playing, it appears he’ll only get better.”

Fleita believes that Szczur will be playing at Double-A Tennessee by next year and by age 22 could be projected on a fast track to Wrigley Field.

Szczur himself feels that all he needs is more repetition to round out his resume.

“I don’t have much experience yet and I’m working on my fundamentals,” Szczur said. “I believe my swing is coming along, but I’m learning to stay back on the ball and give it a better swing than just slapping at it.”

The Cubs are projecting an outfield of Brett Jackson, Tyler Colvin and Szczur sometime in the near future.

Doug Davis made his first start since signing with the Chicago Cubs, throwing 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball on Thursday for Single-A Daytona.

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The Chicago Cubs acquired right-hander Robert Coello from the Boston Red Sox for minor league infielder Tony Thomas.

Coello had been designated for assignment by the Red Sox. He split last season between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket before having his contract selected by the Red Sox on September 5. Coello went 7-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 32 minor league appearances.

Thomas, a third-round pick in 2007, hit .276 for Double-A Tennessee last season.

There is no doubt obtaining Matt Garza from the Tampa Bay Rays for a boatload of young talent -- Chris Archer, Robinson Chirinos, Brandon Guyer, Hak-Ju Lee and Sam Fuld -- was a steep price to pay, but the end result might be worth it.

Garza gives the Cubs a top-of-the-rotation pitcher to go along with Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster. After finishing in fifth place last year, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry had to fortify his staff to compete with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.

Hendry's second move of the offseason, signing Kerry Wood to a free-agent contract, solidified an already-solid back of the bullpen that includes Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall and John Grabow.

The Garza trade will allow power-pitching right-hander Andrew Cashner to vie for the fourth rotation spot. Garza's contract with the Cubs runs through 2013. Physically, the Cubs are getting a player who's never had an injury problem and is coming off his best season. He was 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA. Garza, who's known as being a bit quirky, will fit into an already quirky group of pitchers with the Cubs. He'll make $5 million-$6 million in 2011 through arbitration.

The Cubs also picked up right-handed hitting outfielder Fernando Perez in the deal. The 27-year-old outfielder has had a dislocated wrist and shoulder surgery over the last two seasons. Perez is a speed player who may become a fourth or fifth outfielder off the bench in 2011.

The key players in the trade for the Rays were Archer and Lee. Archer is being projected into the Rays' rotation by 2012. The 22-year-old right-hander was 15-3 during two different minor-league stints last season. Archer was listed as one of the Cubs' two top minor-league pitchers, along with right-hander Trey McNutt.

Lee is considered to be a couple of years away from the majors. According to a couple of minor-league scouts, Lee will be a top-flight defender but may not hit for average in the majors. He has outstanding speed and very good range at shortstop.

Chirinos and Guyer should make it to the majors, but they weren't deal-breakers as far as the Cubs were concerned, with catchers Geovany Soto and Wellington Castillo ahead of Chirinos. And the Cubs have No. 1 pick Brett Jackson ahead of Guyer.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Cubs’ needs going into the Winter Meetings are pretty easy to document. Solutions to those needs are another matter.

Here’s a look at the biggest holes on the Cubs’ roster:

• Replacing Ted Lilly in the rotation: After the team traded Lilly to the Dodgers, a spot opened up for competition between Tom Gorzelanny, Casey Coleman and Jeff Samardzija for the fifth spot in the rotation. However, with the unknown status of Carlos Silva, who had a terrific first half of the 2010 season before heart issues and other injuries limited him in the second half, GM Jim Hendry must find innings eaters to pitch in the fourth and fifth rotation spots. Figuring that Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Randy Wells are your top three pitchers, the Cubs must search for a diamond in the rough. They will scan former aces like Brandon Webb and Jeff Francis, both trying to revert to All-Star form after being sidelined with arm injuries. Webb, a former Cy Young winner, hasn’t pitched in the Major Leagues since Opening Day of the 2009 season. A shoulder problem has persisted until recently for Webb. The Cubs watched the former Diamondback throw in the Arizona Instructional League in early November. Webb, at his peak, was a sinkerball master, but now he has lost some of his velocity. Cubs scouts had him topping out at 86 miles per an hour when they saw him in Arizona. If the Cubs can’t find a functional veteran to plug in, the consensus is they’ll move relief pitcher Andrew Cashner into the rotation. The Cubs also feel that pitching prospects Jay Jackson, Chris Carpenter (not the Cardinals pitcher) and Chris Archer will be a part of the pitching staff some time in 2011.

• Replacing Derrek Lee at first base: In this category the Cubs hope to find a first baseman who drives in runs and bats left handed. Numerous free-agent candidates still exist in the market place. However, the Cubs missed out on Lance Berkman, who signed with the Cardinals on Saturday for $8 million. The Cubs also offered $8 million to Berkman, but one source said there were deferred payments in the Cubs’ offer. The Cubs really don’t have a first baseman of the future in their minor-league system, so signing a veteran to a short-term deal would be the prudent thing to do at this point. As these meetings open, the Cubs were looking at former Blue Jay Lyle Overbay and former Tampa Bay Ray Carlos Pena. Overbay is just a moderate threat left handed. In 2010, he hit 20 homers with 67 RBIs in 154 games. His .767 OPS is far short of what most teams look for from first base. Overbay’s 131 strikeouts are a concern as well. Pena is a terrific defensive first baseman -- though he came in under the Mendoza Line in 2010, hitting .196. That’s a pretty pathetic batting average. However, his power numbers were still good with 26 homers and 83 RBIs. Strikeouts are also a big concern with Pena, who whiffed 158 times last season. Pena is considered a top-flight clubhouse man as well. The other option the Cubs have examined the past couple weeks is a possible trade for Texas first baseman Chris Davis. Davis has big-time power, but also is prone to big strikeout totals. The Rangers are looking for a catcher in return for Davis.

• Replacing a setup man with a setup man: Cashner, a rookie, looked as though he had turned a corner in the setup role late last season. But, as previously stated, the Cubs may move Cashner out of the bullpen into a starting role. The Cubs are going to have to guess on left-hander John Grabow’s health and how effective he will be after returning from knee surgery. The team may need two middle-to-late inning relievers. The list of available, competent setup men is plentiful this offseason, but the salary base for middle relievers is another matter all together. With the signing of middle reliever, Joaquin Benoit by the Detroit Tigers, the price for an above-average middle reliever is around $5 million a year on the free agent market. Cubs icon Kerry Wood will be looked at as a possible addition. Wood will have to accept a setup role -- he was Cleveland’s closer for the better part of two seasons before getting traded to the Yankees in July. Wood and the Cubs would seem to be a good matchup. However, money constraints might hurt the team’s ability to bring back a reliever of Wood’s caliber.

Hendry will be active but somewhat limited during these meetings due to little payroll flexibility. A small trade or two might take place before the Cubs sign a free agent. Outfielder Kosuke Fukudome will be shopped extensively at these meetings. The Cubs are hoping that someone will take at least half of the $13.5 million Fukudome is owed in 2011. Team president Crane Kenny said on ESPN 1000’s “Talking Baseball” on Saturday that the team has ample cash and player resources for Hendry to add the components he needs for 2011. That type of bravado might be a bit of an overstatement, considering the Cubs already have close to 130 million committed to existing contracts and arbitration eligible players. Hendry might only have between $5-8 million to spend, after ownership cut payroll during their November budget meetings.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs presented Brandon Guyer and Chris Archer with the player and pitcher of the year awards before Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Archer, 21, was acquired by the Cubs in the controversial Mark DeRosa trade on Dec. 31, 2008. Archer, along with pitcher Jeff Stevens and John Gaub, were acquired for the popular former Cub.

"To be honest with you, I heard all the talk after the trade," Archer said. "I used that to motivate myself."

Archer won a combined 15 games between Single-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. He'll pitch for Team USA in the Pan American Games in early October.

The Cubs passed the 3 million mark in home attendance on Saturday. It marks the 7th straight season the team has drawn 3 million or more. The Cubs are Chicago's only pro franchise to draw 3 million or more in a season.

The Cubs' 14 September wins are the most of any month in the season.

To say that right-handed pitcher Jeff Samardzija has had a rollercoaster three years in the Cubs’ organization would be a vast understatement. He was first used as a starting pitcher, then a reliever, then a starter again.

Finally this summer, Samardzija was left alone to concentrate on being a starter after failing to get the job done in the bullpen this April.

The former Notre Dame football All-American won 11 games at Triple-A Iowa after improving his command and honing his skills as a pitcher.

The always upbeat Samardzija evaluated his pitching now as compared to his pitching in the past.

“I think mostly it’s about being aggressive on the mound,” Samardzija said. “For me personally, I got out of a funk where I’d walk a few guys here and there. But ultimately, I’ve been battling all year. My pitches have gotten better just by throwing more and that’s going to continue to happen.”

The Cubs brought Samardzija up in late 2008 and he had some success out of the bullpen. However, after his split-finger pitch became less effective, he was left with a 95-mph fastball to try to get out major league hitters, which didn’t get it done.

A trip to Mexico last winter helped Samardzija gain some command of his slider and changeup, two pitches he desperately needed in order to go back and be successful in the major leagues.

With so many minor-league pitchers getting called up from Iowa in 2010, Samardzija was asked if it hurt him to be passed by so many times.

“It was hard at first,” Samardzija said. “Because we talked about me going down [to the minors] and getting right. I went down and I pitched my [butt] off for a while. It’s not in my hands. All I can do is go out and play, and that’s kind of what I came to. It’s a different experience being patient, but you learn a lot.”

Samardzija finally became a full-time starter in July, and for his sake, I hope the Cubs don’t make the mistake of putting him back in the bullpen again.

Samardzija is out of options going into 2011, so if he doesn’t make the 25-man roster next season, he’s subject to being claimed on waivers by another team.