The Cubs have activated left-hander Wade Miley from the 60-day injured list, per reporter Mark Gonzales. Right-hander Luke Farrell was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Additionally, Gonzales relays that catcher Willson Contreras has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 3. He’s been dealing with an ankle injury of late. Outfielder Michael Hermosillo has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list to take his place on the active roster, with right-hander Nicholas Padilla getting designated for assignment to open up a 40-man spot.
Farrell, 31, is in his sixth MLB season, having pitched for the Royals, Reds, Rangers and Twins, in addition to the Cubbies. However, he’s logged just 98 2/3 innings over those six campaigns, with a 4.83 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 11.4% walk rate and 31.8% ground ball rate. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs this year, getting selected in August. He’s thrown 11 MLB innings on the season with a 4.09 ERA. In 59 Triple-A innings, he has a 5.03 ERA for the year.
Miley, 35, will be looking for a strong finish to a frustrating season. Due to both elbow and shoulder issues, Miley has spent much of the season on the injured list and has made only four starts this year. That’s come on the heels of a tremendous 2021 season with the Reds that saw him throw 163 innings with a 3.37 ERA. The Reds could have kept him around via a $10MM club option but instead put him on waivers and saw the Cubs snatch him up. Chicago was surely hoping for Miley to act as a veteran stabilizer in a rotation experiencing much turnover as part of the club’s rebuild. Instead, he’s been absent for much of the year while trying to get healthy. He recently spoke to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times about his intention to continue pitching. The Cubs are well out of postseason contention, but Miley will have the remaining four weeks of the regular season to showcase his arm before the offseason begins.
Contreras, 30, hasn’t played in a week due to this lingering ankle issue. The Cubs didn’t place him on the IL until now, likely hoping that a few days’ rest would help it go away. However, that doesn’t seem to have happened, based on today’s move. Because it was backdated, Contreras could potentially return in a week if he heals up. Like Miley, Contreras is an impending free agent, which made him a clear trade candidate prior to the deadline. However, he ended up sticking with Chicago in one of the more shocking developments of early August. This ankle injury will be a snag on what has been the best season of his career. Contreras has hit 21 home runs and is slashing .246/.351/.471. The resulting 132 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR are both career highs. Like Miley, he’ll be looking to get back on the field before the offseason kicks into gear. With Contreras out of action, Yan Gomes will likely get the bulk of the playing time behind the plate, with P.J. Higgins on hand as a backup.
Padilla, 25, was selected to the big league roster for the first time just two weeks ago. He made just a single MLB appearance, having spent most of his time this year in the minors. He’s thrown 47 innings on the farm this year across three different levels, registering a 2.11 ERA with a strong 30.5% strikeout rate but a high 13.7% walk rate. Given his youth, years of control and full slate of options, he could hold appeal for a team looking for some bullpen depth. He and Farrell will each be placed on waivers in the coming days, since the trade deadline has already passed.
What am I missing about Hermosillo? Cubs always protect him, move him around from 10-day IL, 60-day IL, to minors…all these transactions for a guy who has never, ever hit in MLB when given the chance. DFA already and go with a prospect who just might hit his weight!
Jackson Frazier might agree.
I figured Hermosillo would have been dfa as soon as he came off the IL. Must have some compromising photos of jed or something.
He had a really good year in Iowa last year and there was some talk about how he re-tooled his swing.. Only had 200 career ABs in the pros and can play the outfield pretty well. He’s probably better than Ortega so might as well let him get some at-bats down the stretch. Cubs also don’t want to call up any of the guys like Mervis because they have to add them to the 40 man.
He really does have a very intriguing upside but the issue is he cannot stay healthy.
This will be his last chance
Hermoillo is not good. I don’t get it either
Where are all the people who chastised the Reds for waiving Miley, now? No one wishes injury on any player, but the Reds didn’t think Miley, with his track record, was worth $10MM coming off his career year and they were right.
While that all may be true, they’re also incredibly cheap.
ugh. once agin cubs fail to sign 1 year contacts before the season starts to trade them off for prospects. Fire jed hoyer.
I’ve been scratching my head about the Cubs front office since before Theo left. Nothing they do (and don’t do) makes any sense. They’re certainly not trying to maximize a return on their assets.