The Chicago Cubs have designated Miguel Montero for assignment after he publicly called out Jake Arrieta for allowing seven stolen bases against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.

"That's the reason they were running left and right today, because they were slow to the plate," Montero said as he criticized Arrieta and the Chicago pitching staff for Washington's baserunning success. "Simple as that. It's a shame it's my fault because I didn't throw anyone out."

Montero said he apologized on Wednesday to Arrieta and that the teammates were on good terms. However, Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon both said the catcher's comments necessitated a roster change.

"When something goes wrong on the field we expect our players to take the blame, step up and proactively assume the blame for it, even if it's not their fault," Epstein said. "That's the way to be a good teammate. He completely agreed when it was pointed out to him and he apologized.

"After thinking about it some more, I just came to the conclusion that now more than ever we need to be a team. This was an example of being a bad teammate publicly and that we'd be better off moving on and not standing for it."