The Cubs have activated outfielder Ian Happ from the 10-day injured list and designated infielder Ildemaro Vargas for assignment, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
Happ is returning after spending the minimum amount of time on the IL with a rib contusion. Before that, Happ got off to an uncharacteristically slow start with the bat, evidenced by a .167/.307/.250 line with two home runs in 109 plate appearances. Happ’s strikeout, groundball and fly ball rates have all trended in the wrong direction, which helps explain his poor production, though he has dealt with some bad fortune. The 26-year-old’s .245 batting average on balls in play is easily a career low, and he’s well above average in such Statcast categories as hard-hit percentage and average exit velocity.
This is the second time since the end of March that the Cubs have designated Vargas, who has appeared in nine of their games and taken 24 trips to the plate this season. The 29-year-old has batted .143/.250/.238 with no home runs.
I hope Happ gets back on track. Hey Guys. Me and a bunch of other commenters from MLBTR started a 20-team fantasy league. 1 of the owners has left but his team is still pretty good. He is 3-2 and in line to make the playoffs in 6th place. He has Gerrit Cole and Tyler Glasnow. Is anyone willing to take over the team? 16 teams make the playoffs in this league so you would be virtually certain to make the playoffs. you can take over the team. This is a good big league only for MLBTR commenters. My gmail address is theatlantabravesguy so send me an email there and you can join.
Hopefully Happ can improve as much as Pederson did following his IL stint.
Now, the Cubs have a 40 man roster spot available, and the Dodgers have Blankenhorn.
smdh
You should write another article for your lame little Patreon about your bizarre Blankenhorn fetish. Maybe find out what his favorite musical groups are? I’m sure your three subscribers would really appreciate it!
I think Lloyd’s one of the subscribers.
Your mom.
Vargas might be useful somewhere if claimed.
Happ is a converted infielder playing the outfield. He was converted due to mediocre infield defense. At best Happ should be in left as the center field position requires more speed than he provides. His injury was due to failure to call for the ball and a lack of speed to get there. Almora would have made the catch easily.
I’ve had enough of Vargas, but I’ve also had enough of Bote getting anything close to regular AB. Their best lineup has either Happ or Heyward in the OF, Bryant in the corresponding OF position (Happ doesn’t have the arm to play RF), and Duffy at 3B. Let Joc play LF against lefties and bench Heyward.
One thing that the CF injuries have done is shown that Bryant is a competent CF. Which increases his value and probably keeps him healthier than playing 3B. Hopefully that also increases his trade value since this team just doesn’t have enough horses to compete even in a weak division. Comparisons to Craig Biggio and Robin Yount seem appropriate, even if Bryant isn’t quite to their level.
Is there a limit on the number of times that you can DFA someone and then be allowed to return to the team?
I don’t think so. Though, Vargas can declare free agency if he is outrighted to the minors a second time.
Ian Happ bomb. Welcome back.