The Fleeting Allure of the Utility Pitcher Josh Fleming's recent release by the Chicago Cubs is a stark reminder of the precarious existence of the utility pitcher.
This breed thrives in baseball's gray areas but often finds itself on the chopping block when fortunes change.
Fleming's story is familiar: stints with multiple teams, a persistent inability to crack the starting rotation, and respectable numbers at Triple A that can be undone by a single bad outing or off season slump.