Cubs add Manny Corpas, Andy Sonnanstine to staff

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Updated: January 28, 2012 8:11AM

The Cubs added two more pitchers Monday in moves likely aimed at bolstering the bullpen in the wake of setup man Sean Marshall’s trade last week to the Cincinnati Reds.

Right-handers Manny Corpas and Andy Sonnanstine agreed to non-guaranteed contracts for the coming season. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Both will be question marks
going into spring training, with Corpas hoping to rebound after missing last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and Sonnanstine coming off two subpar seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Corpas, 29, was 12-16 with 34 saves and a 3.93 ERA in five seasons with the Colorado Rockies, who released him after the 2010 season. Sonnanstine, 28, was
28-31 with a 5.26 ERA in five seasons with the Rays, who release him this month.

Before his surgery, Corpas was a key piece of the Rockies’ bullpen. He was 4-2 with 19 saves and a
2.08 ERA when the Rockies reached the World Series in 2007. In 2010, he was 3-5 with 10 saves and a 4.62 ERA. He was in the Texas Rangers’ organization last season but didn’t pitch.

Sonnanstine was a starter for the Rays in his first three seasons, going 13-9 with a 4.38 ERA when they won the American League pennant in 2008.

But he was moved to the bullpen the last two seasons and split last season between the Rays and their Class AAA affiliate in Durham, N.C. He was 0-2 with a 5.55 ERA in 15 major-league appearances in 2011.

Cubs president Theo Epstein is familiar with Sonnanstine, who was part of the recent Rays teams that challenged his former Boston Red Sox team and the New York Yankees in the AL East.