Cubs' Pierce Johnson: Removed from 40-man roster

Johnson was designated for assignment by the Cubs on Wednesday.

Johnson was dropped from the 40-man roster to open a spot for the contract selection of Thursday's starter, Jen-Ho Tseng. He was never able to get things going at Triple-A Iowa, compiling a 5.29 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 117.1 innings there over the past two seasons.