The Cubs announced they’ve designated reliever Julian Merryweather for assignment. He’ll be replaced on the active and 40-man rosters by Brooks Kriske, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.
Merryweather, 33, loses his roster spot thanks to a rough start to the season. The hard-throwing righty has given up 13 runs (12 earned) through his first 18 2/3 innings. He has fanned 15 while issuing 11 walks and surrendering a couple home runs. He’d fallen down the bullpen hierarchy and was working in mostly low-leverage spots. The Cubs called upon him down by two runs in the fifth inning against Cincinnati yesterday. He retired only two of six batters faced and gave up a pair of runs while struggling through 32 pitches.
The Cubs erased the four-run deficit and went on to a fairly comfortable 13-6 win, but Merryweather likely would not have been available for a couple days. His performance didn’t make all that compelling a case to retain his middle relief spot anyhow. Merryweather has allowed 6.15 earned runs per nine in 36 appearances since the start of the 2024 season — a marked dip from a ’23 campaign in which he posted a 3.38 ERA across a career-high 72 innings.
Chicago has five days to explore trade possibilities before they’ll need to place him on waivers. Merryweather is playing this season on a $1.225MM arbitration contract. Any team that claims him would assume the remainder of that salary. If he clears waivers, he’d quite likely accept a minor league assignment to Triple-A Iowa. Merryweather has the requisite three years of service to decline an outright assignment, but he’s a handful of days shy of the five-year service cutoff. That’s the point at which he could elect free agency while still collecting the rest of his salary.
The 31-year-old Kriske could make an MLB appearance for the first time since 2023. He signed an offseason minor league deal that’ll pay him a prorated $900K for his time in the majors. Kriske had spent time on the 40-man rosters of the Reds and Orioles last year but did not make it into a big league game. He’d combined for a 3.39 ERA across 58 1/3 Triple-A innings, though, making him a solid depth addition on a minor league deal.
Kriske is out to a similar start this year in Iowa. The righty sports a 3.38 ERA with a massive 36% strikeout rate through 18 1/3 frames. He has walked over 10% of opponents, but he’s missing plenty of bats behind a three-pitch mix (fastball, splitter, slider). Kriske has a long history of big strikeout and walk tallies in his minor league career. He was hit hard in scattered MLB stints between 2020-23 for the Yankees, Orioles and Royals. He carries an 11.22 earned run average over 20 career big league outings.
Finally!
Downgrade
Clueless
Kriske must own his own private plane so no air fare to Cinncinnati? Otherwise this makes zero sense. They called up the one guy who might be worse than Merryweather, Although I don’t see how.
Oh yeah, Iowa is in Columbus so Cab ride. LOL
Why can’t we just have UncleMike as our GM? We wouldn’t lose a game!
He’s easy to DFA when Miller comes back next week. Meanwhile he can throw some garbage innings today (they are losing 6-2 as I write this) and save the rest of the bullpen.
Miller went on the 60 day DL less than two weeks ago—he’s pretty much there until the all star break.
Even though he was pitching, the 60 day move may have been able to be aligned with the original placement. Not sure when the clock actually started.
mike127- Miller was just transferred to the 60 day for paperwork. He never stopped pitching he was on a rehab so that doesn’t count. It was 60 days from WHEN he first went on it. Wicks just got hurt in the first inning with what looked like an arm injury. Might be lucky and it was a hamstring but it looked bad either way. Miller should be eligible whenever he’s healthy by now. But he will have to be put BACK on the 40.
Thanks — I wasn’t sure — he was ready to come back and then get shelved by the line drive so I appreciate the insight.
Here’s my overnight guess, Uncle…
—–Kriske DFA
—–McGuire to 40 man and recalled
—–Amaya to IL
—–Holowell recalled for tomorrow
Thoughts????
Yeah that sounds plausible. I totally spaced that Fulmer, Little and Hollowell pitched Friday. Amaya getting hurt stunk. McGuire was sat tonight with Perez getting the Catching gig over Ballesteros and if the Cubs need a guy who can catch McGuire is my guy also. Wicks going down tonight takes another starter out of the equation. He has been inconsistent this year so far anyway. Fulmer has been looking very Leiter Jr. like with his split lately so maybe they found something. Little has been throwing strikes and Hollowell has surprised me so there are options anyway. Ask me what Jed will do and I say…. I have no idea. Anything is possible but yours seems likely more than not. Especially since Kriske went 2 today. Wicks going down in the 1st tonight is killing the Iowa pen and Keegan just went on the IL yesterday.
Footnote on Miller, There are rules about how long you can be on a rehab assignment though but I don’t know if that reset because they changed his designation and all that is beyond me so that’s a paperwork nightmare to be sure as to what happens with him but he pitched tonight so………..?
I think it’s time to cross Wicks off our list of future contributors. He is hapless; everything befalls him. Besides, whenever he tries to throw just a wee bit harder, he hurts his arm. I predict we’ll never see him pitch in the majors again. He was a wasted first-round pick, a relic of the Cubs’ high floor-low ceiling years that, thankfully seem to be over.
Don’t be surprised if Ballesteros comes up tomorrow to sit on the bench while Kelly catches. That would let them see if there is another catcher to acquire if it is going to be a short IL stint for Amaya.
If they know it’s going to be a month or more, it’ll be McGuire.
Wicks going down means that 4 of their top 7 starters in February’s depth chart are on the IL: Steele, Imanaga, Assad, and Wicks. If Taillon goes down, it’s going to feel like 1985.
I’ll take that a few steps further. Uncle should be appointed the God Father of all Chicago sports. Everything should go through Uncle.
Interesting, I thought they would find some phantom injury to get him on the IL. He hasn’t been right for a while. I’m sure another team will try to fix him. Kriske wouldn’t have been my first choice for a call up, but we’ll see how it goes.
Massive downgrade, if that is possible. I would have rather called up any of the 6 or so guys on the 40 man from AAA.
Apparently you haven’t seen Merryweather pitch this year.
@16 – Not much, but I’ve seen Kriske pitch and he has a double digit era in limited MLB action. Merryweather is better than that.
Cleveland legend
Isn’t Merryweather the guy with a good mph fastball?
He was at 98 consistently during his good season, last season and this season hes been 95ish.
Velocity doesn’t guarantee results.
It made a huge difference for Merryweather. When his velocity slipped it was all over but the shouting.
Too bad. JM just never regained his 2023 form. I think Kriske will just be passing through, and they will call up Little or another prospect soon.
Who else almost started reading that name as Brooks Keischnick? Lol
Nobody else
The Cubs should call up Luke Little. This makes zero sense.
The Cubs have 3 guys getting it done at Iowa.
Michael Fulmer has looked awesome ever since the Cubs got him back. I don’t think he’s given up a run yet.
Luke Little has learned how to throw strikes people! He’s taken a page out of the Palencia script. Little has like a 1.25 ERA and a 22-6 BB/K rate.
Hollowell much to my surprise has been getting it done in both MLB and Iowa so my bad.
So who do we call up to replace Merryweather?
Brooks Kriske
It’s a joke right?
@Uncle: It IS peculiar. I hope it is just for a couple of days, and then they replace Kriske with one of those
All I can think of is that Kriske has a 6/1 out so they will have to let him go anyway so they just want to get a bit of use out of him so I hope you’re right. Just hope it doesn’t cost a game if they have to use him.
You ask for something (DFA Merryweather) and you find a way to complain about it any way.
Merrryweather’s last five outings were all in low leverage situations while they gave him one last chance to find it.
I would suspect Kriske, at least in the immediate setting, isn’t going to be in the spot to cost games.
Based on recent performance Kriske has been one of the better pitchers.
mike127- I also turned the game off yesterday and watched the truck race when Counsell brought in Merryweather because I didn’t think he was serious about winning the game so I missed the big rally. But I had just eaten and didn’t want to get Bulimia.
Special P.S. to the guy who said Matt Shaw couldn’t go into foul territory and make a play to 1B I just saw him do it and made an instant highlight reel play. Not meant for you mike. Just happened to see it while I was typing this.
You might be on to something. I forgot also that Fulmer and Little and Hollowell all pitched yesterday with Fulmer and Little going at least 2 innings. So I guess it makes more sense.
No loss with merryweather although I thought another lefty like little would make more sense. Little has trouble throwing strikes but just like Kriskie who is 6 years older and well traveled.
If this is the end of his career, he can tell his kids that the Blue Jays sent Josh Donaldson and 3M dollars to acquire him.