Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cubs Rumors

Cubs Make Five Roster Moves

By | at

6:10PM: Bote’s ankle injury is “significant,” manager David Ross told reporters (including Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago), and it isn’t out of the question that Bote’s season could be over.  Ross said Bote hurt his right ankle in rather fluky fashion, as he stepped onto a baseball while participating in a pregame baserunning drill.  “You watch the replay, and it’s pretty nasty, how hard he rolled his ankle,” Ross said.

3:37PM: The Cubs announced a flurry of roster moves today, including the news that David Bote has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 26) due to a right ankle sprain.  Chicago also designated right-handers Jake Jewell and Ryan Meisinger for assignment, and selected the contracts of right-hander Scott Effross and infielder Alfonso Rivas from Triple-A.

This is Bote’s second IL placement of the season, after a separated shoulder put him out of action for close to two months.  Bote has seen most of the everyday second base at-bats since returning from that first IL trip, though he is still struggling at the plate, with only a .202/.270/.339 slash line over 268 plate appearances.  The severity of the sprain isn’t yet known, and Cubs radio broadcaster Zach Zaidman (Twitter link) said Bote’s injury occurred yesterday during batting practice.

Both Effross and Rivas are now in line to make their Major League debuts, as the rebuilding Cubs continue to look at younger players.  Effross was a 15th-round pick for the team in the 2015 draft, while Rivas was a fourth-round pick for the A’s in the 2018 draft, and was dealt to Chicago in January 2020 in the trade that sent Tony Kemp to Oakland.

On-base skills have been Rivas’ calling card over his brief pro career, as he has hit .288/.393/.411 over 1037 PA across three minor league seasons.  The left-handed hitting Rivas has done much of that damage against right-handed pitching, and he has played some left field and right field to go along with his customary first base spot.

Effross began the season at Double-A and was then promoted to Triple-A for the first time.  Overall, the 27-year-old has a 3.41 ERA and 27.61% strikeout rate over 60 2/3 combined innings this season, working out of the bullpen for 29 of his 31 appearances.  Effross tends to rely more on grounders than missed bats, as he has consistently topped the 50 percent threshold for groundball percentage during his minor league career.

Jewell and Meisinger each signed minor league contracts with the Cubs during the offseason, and both right-handers were selected to the MLB roster within the last month.  Jewell has a 9.90 ERA over 10 innings, while Meisinger has a 12.27 ERA in 7 1/3 innings.

Injury Notes: Biggio, Brentz, Hoerner, Stiever

By | at

Cavan Biggio suffered an injury to his left elbow while diving for a ball in a Triple-A game on Friday, the Blue Jays told TSN’s Scott Mitchell and other reporters.  The extent of the injury isn’t yet known.  Biggio was already seven games deep into a minor league rehab assignment, after being placed on the 10-day injured list on August 3 due to back tightness.

Between that injury and an earlier IL stint due to a cervical spine ligament sprain, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Biggio has struggled to a .215/.316/.350 slash line over 290 plate appearances this season.  It’s been a tough setback for a player who had seemingly emerged as part of the Jays’ young core, as Biggio produced a 118 wRC+ over 695 PA in 2019-20.  This elbow injury could hamper Biggio’s chances of returning to the big league roster and salvaging something from this season, and it remains to be seen how he’ll fit into Toronto’s plans for 2022.

More on other injury situations from around baseball…

  • The Royals placed left-hander Jake Brentz on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 21) due to left shoulder impingement syndrome.  Righty Kyle Zimmer was reinstated from the 10-day IL to take Brentz’s spot on the active roster.  Brentz’s first MLB season has been a successful one, as the southpaw has posted a 3.15 ERA and an above-average 27.4% strikeout rate over his first 54 1/3 innings in the big leagues.  The hard-throwing Brentz has drawn some buzz as a potential closer of the future for Kansas City, though he has yet to solve his career-long control issues, as Brentz has a 14.5% walk rate this season.
  • Nico Hoerner left his first rehab game yesterday, though the Cubs told The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro and other reporters that Hoerner didn’t suffer a setback to his injured oblique.  While it isn’t known when Hoerner will officially get back to rehab games, he is expected to resume baseball activities this week.  2021 has been an injury-plagued season for Hoerner, who has played in only 39 games due to forearm and hamstring strains, plus this oblique strain that has kept him out of action since July 29.
  • White Sox right-hander Jonathan Stiever underwent season-ending surgery to correct a lat injury, assistant GM Chris Getz told reporters (including The Athletic’s James Fegan).  Stiever is expected to be ready in time for the start of Spring Training.  Stiever has tossed 6 1/3 innings over three big league games in the last two seasons, with an ugly 14.21 ERA to show for his brief tenure in the majors.  Due to the cancelled 2020 minor league season, Stiever made the jump to the Show from high-A ball, and he has struggled to a 5.84 ERA over 74 innings for Triple-A Charlotte this season.

NL Injury Notes: Syndergaard, Betts, Kelly, Hoerner, Peralta

By | at

Noah Syndergaard is expected to begin a rehab assignment this week, according to Tim Healey of Newsday Sports. As was previously reported, the Mets are planning on having the hulking righty return as a member of their bullpen, since there’s not enough time remaining in the season for him to be stretched out as a starter. This would be his second rehab assignment of the year, as he attempts to work his way back from undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2020. He had previously had a rehab stint in May, before being shut down due to elbow inflammation. It’s now been almost two years since his last big-league appearance, which was September 29th of 2019. The final few weeks of the season will be tremendously important for both Syndergaard and the Mets. The team needs all the help they can get to pull themselves out of their current nosedive. Despite having the division lead in the NL East as recently as August 5th, they are now in third place and seven games behind the Braves. As for Thor, he is a few weeks away from entering free agency for the first time and could help his own case by showing some health and effectiveness before the season ends.

More from around the NL…

  • The Dodgers are planning on reinstating Mookie Betts from the injured list on Thursday, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. The outfielder has been dealing with hip pain all year and is currently in the midst of his second IL placement this season because of it. Despite the nagging hip situation, Betts has still been tremendously valuable when on the field. In 87 games this year, he’s hitting .277/.378/.521, for a wRC+ of 143. Getting him healthy will be a huge boost to the Dodgers as they attempt to chase down the Giants and make up the 2 1/2 games that separate them in the race for the NL West crown.
  • The Dodgers could also welcome Joe Kelly back into the fold this week, per Castillo. Kelly was placed on the IL without explanation on August 10th, but a source of Castillo’s confirmed that it was because of a positive COVID test. The righty has seemingly recovered, given that he started a rehab assignment on Friday. He’s done some quality work this year, throwing 29 2/3 innings of 3.34 ERA ball. The bullpen could use his fresh arm, since it’s recently put Garrett Cleavinger and Evan Phillips on the 10-day IL, as well as Jimmy Nelson going under the knife for season-ending Tommy John surgery earlier this month.
  • Nico Hoerner left the first game of his rehab assignment today because of tension in his oblique, per Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. Hoerner and the Cubs can afford to play things cautiously, as they are well out of the playoff picture at this point. But the infielder has only been able to play in 39 games this season due to various injuries and would surely like to get some more reps before the winter. The club would also surely love to get more looks at him in action, given that they are going into an offseason with so many potential variables after parting ways with so much of their previous core. When on the field, he has had been effective at the plate this year, slashing .313/.388/.388, producing a wRC+ of 113. He’s also played second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field, meaning that he could fit into the club’s future plans in a variety of ways.
  • Freddy Peralta played catch today, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Peralta went on the IL on Thursday with shoulder inflammation and will be eligible to return this coming weekend. The righty is in the midst of an exceptional breakout season, as he’s thrown 121 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA and superb strikeout rate of 34%. Among all pitchers with at least 120 innings this season, that’s the fourth-best ERA and fourth-best K%. The Brewers don’t need to rush him back, as they are 7 1/2 games ahead of the Reds in the NL Central. But assuming he can keep his shoulder in good shape, he’ll form one third of a potentially deadly playoff rotation, alongside Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes.

NL Notes: Bryant, Cubs, Mets, Baez, Lindor, Longoria

By | at

The blockbuster trade between the Mets and Cubs on deadline day was almost even bigger, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that Kris Bryant was also part of talks between the two clubs.  The actual trade saw Javier Baez and Trevor Williams go to New York in exchange for top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, but Rosenthal reports that the larger version of the swap would’ve also seen the Mets land Bryant and another player off of Chicago’s big league roster.  In exchange, the Cubs would have received not only Crow-Armstrong, but also “a prospect they regarded even more highly and a major leaguer under multi-year club control.”

However, the Mets learned of Jacob deGrom’s injury setback on deadline day, which likely made the team wary of making too big of an all-in move.  Given how the Cubs were very busy in reshaping their team at the deadline, it’s possible the mystery player could have been any of the players instead dealt elsewhere (i.e. Craig Kimbrel, Jake Marisnick) or possibly someone who is still in a Cubs uniform today.  It’s probably safe to guess that one of Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Matthew Allan, or J.T. Ginn was the blue-chip Mets prospect in question, unless the Cubs were intrigued by someone outside of the upper tier of New York’s prospect rankings.

More from around the National League…

  • The Mets could have a new middle infield as soon as tomorrow, as manager Luis Rojas told Newsday’s Tim Healey and other reporters that one or both of Baez and Francisco Lindor could be activated off the 10-day injured list.  Sunday marks Baez’s first eligible day to return after being (retroactively) placed on the IL August 12 due to back spasms, while Lindor has been sidelined since July 17 due to a right oblique strain.  The Mets have Monday off before beginning a series at home against the Giants on Tuesday, so it is possible the Mets could hold Lindor and/or Baez back to give them another two full recovery days before returning them to the active roster.  Baez, at least, seems likely to return by Tuesday at the latest.
  • Evan Longoria is day-to-day after being hit on one of his right fingers by a pitch in Wednesday’s game.  The third baseman has missed the Giants’ last two contests and manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle) that Longoria also wouldn’t play on Sunday.  Combined with the Giants’ off-days on Monday and last Thursday, that would give Longoria at least five full days of recovery time.  On the plus side, Kapler said that an MRI showed no signs of a fracture in Longoria’s finger.  Longoria returned only a week ago from a 60-day injured list stint due to a sprained shoulder, and this finger injury serves as the latest interruption in a very strong comeback season (.289/.382/.526 in 199 PA) for the 35-year-old veteran.

MLBTR’s TC Zencka also contributed to this post

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Taylor, Yardley, Cubs, Hoerner, Thompson, Jewell

By | at

The Brewers placed outfield Tyrone Taylor on the 10-day injured list with an oblique injury. They recalled Eric Yardley to fill his roster spot, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Taylor is expected to be out for 3-4 weeks, per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). Taylor has been a key contributor for Milwaukee, piling up 1.2 rWAR as a fill-in outfielder. The 31-year-old Yardley has struggled to the tune of a 6.75 ERA over 18 2/3 innings this year, but he was gold for the Brewers in 2020. That season, he tossed 23 1/3 innings with a 1.54 ERA, though still with just a 4.09 FIP. Elsewhere in the NL Central…

  • Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner will begin a rehab assignment in South Bend tomorrow. He is likely to move up to Triple-A when the Iowa Cubs return home on Tuesday, per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma (via Twitter). Hoerner will probably start to see more concentrated playing time at shortstop now that Nick Madrigal has joined the organization. Regardless of where he plays, Hoerner has a much more central role in the organization now than when he went down with an oblique strain on July 29th.
  • Keegan Thompson got the start in Chicago today after being recalled from Triple-A. Jake Jewell was optioned to Triple-A to clear the roster spot, per Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM (via Twitter). Jewell has appeared in nine games, tossing nine innings with a 8.00 ERA.

Cubs Select Michael Hermosillo, Designate Dan Winkler

By | at

TODAY: The Cubs placed Winkler on unconditional release waivers, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). He will be a free agent.

AUG 17: The Cubs have selected outfielder Michael Hermosillo to the big league roster, the team announced. Reliever Dan Winkler was designated for assignment to open space on the active and 40-man rosters. Additionally, Chicago announced that left-hander Kyle Ryan has elected free agency after being passed through outright waivers.

Hermosillo reaches the majors for the fourth consecutive season, as he saw brief time with the Angels every year from 2018-20. Between those three years, the right-handed hitter only picked up a grand total of 118 plate appearances, slashing .188/.288/.287 with a single home run. Amidst those struggles, Los Angeles passed him through waivers last August and he hit minor league free agency over the offseason.

Chicago added the 26-year-old on a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa. Hermosillo has been brilliant in the minors, raking at a .310/.448/.600 clip and popping ten home runs in 183 trips to the plate while playing all three positions on the grass. With the Cubs reeling at the major league level, they can afford to give Hermosillo a look to see if he can emerge as a late-blooming option for the 2022 team and beyond. He’s out of minor league option years, so Chicago now needs to keep him on the active roster or expose him to waivers.

Winkler has been a fixture in the Cubs’ bullpen over the past two seasons. He kept runs off the board last year despite underwhelming peripherals, but he’s had a difficult 2021 campaign in every regard. The righty has a 5.22 ERA over 39 2/3 frames, striking out hitters at a below-average 21.1% rate while walking a very high 15.8% of opponents.

The past few seasons have been a struggle for Winkler, who pitched well from 2017-18 with the Braves. With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, he’ll find himself on waivers in the coming days. A claiming team would assume what remains of his $900K salary; otherwise, the Cubs will be on the hook for the tab. Winkler has the right to elect free agency while retaining his entire salary should he pass through waivers.

That’s the course of action Ryan chose after being designated for assignment last week. The veteran southpaw is now set to explore other opportunities. Should he sign elsewhere before August 31, he’d be eligible for his new team’s postseason roster.

Cubs Sign Marcus Walden

By | at

The Cubs have agreed to terms with right-hander Marcus Walden on a minor league deal, his representatives at Ball Players Agency announced (Twitter link).

Walden, 32, opened the season with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate and has seen time in the Majors with Boston in each of the past three seasons. He was a solid middle-inning option for them from 2018-19, piling up 92 2/3 frames of 3.79 ERA ball while striking out 23.3 percent of his opponents against a 9.1 percent walk rate. Walden recorded an excellent 54.3 percent ground-ball rate in that time and averaged 94.2 mph on his sinker in that time.

The 2020 season, however, marked a considerable step in the wrong direction. Walden’s sinker dipped by 1.3 mph, and his ground-ball rate fell to 40.4 percent while his strikeout rate (14.1 percent) and walk rate (12.7 percent) both fell off. That came in a sample of just 13 1/3 innings, during which the righty was tagged for 14 earned runs on 23 hits (five homers) and nine walks with 10 punchouts.

The Red Sox designated Walden for assignment in late February after signing Marwin Gonzalez to a one-year deal, and he remained in the organization via an outright assignment after clearing waivers. He spent the season thus far in Triple-A Worcester, pitching to a 4.01 ERA and posting rate stats that look much more similar to his solid 2018-19 levels: a 20.9 percent strikeout rate, a 9.9 percent walk rate and a huge 57.6 percent ground-ball rate. Boston released him last week.

With the Cubs, Walden ought to have a good chance at working his way to the big leagues before long. Chicago has overhauled its bullpen in the past month, trading Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel prior to the July 30 deadline and more recently designating both Kyle Ryan and Dan Winkler for assignment. The Cubs have very little in the way of established relievers in the ’pen at this point, so a strong showing for Walden in Iowa could earn him a look sooner than later.

Cubs Select Adrian Sampson, Designate Johneshwy Fargas

By | at

The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Adrian Sampson from Triple-A Iowa and designated outfielder Johneshwy Fargas for assignment in a corresponding move, per a club announcement.

Sampson, 29, will be returning to the Majors for the first time since 2019. He’s spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues between the Mariners and Rangers but struggled to a 5.71 ERA in that time. He spent the 2020 season with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Lotte Giants and racked up 130 innings in their rotation, albeit with a lackluster 5.30 ERA in that time.

Sampson has been far from dominant in Iowa this year, but he’s carrying a 4.12 ERA over his past 10 starts — a span of 55 2/3 innings. That includes a seven-run meltdown on Aug. 7, but he’s been largely solid for the better part of two months outside of that hiccup. He’ll give the Cubs a fresh arm to start with Adbert Alzolay hitting the 10-day injured list due to a blister issue.

Fargas, 26, was claimed off waivers earlier in the summer and has gone 7-for-26 in his limited time with the team. He’s hitting .277/.292/.426 through 49 plate appearances this year between the Cubs and the Mets — the first big league action of his career. The longtime Giants minor leaguer is a career .255/.331./346 hitter in parts of eight minor league seasons, but he possesses well above-average speed — as evidenced by 248 minor league steals — and can play all three outfield spots. The Cubs will place him on outright or release waivers in the coming days.

Cubs Activate Jason Heyward, Option Greg Deichmann

By | at

The Cubs have activated Jason Heyward from the IL, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, Greg Deichmann has been optioned to Triple-A. This is the inverse of the roster move from 10 days ago, when Deichmann was called up as Heyward went onto the IL.

This was the first major league action for Deichmann, who just joined the Cubs in the Andrew Chafin trade. He got into seven games and made 23 plate appearances, hitting .174. At Triple-A this year, he has a slash line of .291/.425/.439, for a wRC+ of 124.

Heyward is now one of the few household names remaining after the Cubs’ deadline fire sale. Along with Kyle Hendricks and David Bote, he’s one of just three players on the team with a guaranteed contract for next season. He’ll make $22MM in 2022 and 2023 as he finishes out the eight-year contract he signed prior to the 2016 season. After an excellent 2020 campaign, he’s crashed back to earth this year, with a slash line of .198/.271/.322, a wRC+ of 63.

Cubs Place Adbert Alzolay On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Cubs have placed right-hander Adbert Alzolay on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.  Righty Trevor Megill was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Alzolay left his start last night in the second inning due to the injury, adding to a disastrous inning for the Cubs that saw the Marlins score 11 runs en route to a 14-10 victory.  Alzolay was charged with six of those runs over his 1 1/3 innings of work, his worst performance in what has been an inconsistent season for the 26-year-old.  Alzolay has a 5.16 ERA over 106 1/3 frames in 2021, as above-average walk and strikeouts rates haven’t been enough to counter a lot of hard contact from opposing batters against Alzolay’s offerings.

After posting a 2.95 ERA over a small sample size of 21 1/3 innings last season, Alzolay was seen as a candidate to step forward and establish himself as a regular member of Chicago’s rotation.  Given how the Cubs have dealt much of their veteran pitching beyond Kyle Hendricks, Alzolay is still a candidate for the 2022 staff almost by default.  Once he returns from the IL, Alzolay will get the rest of this season to make his case heading into Spring Training and ahead of whatever pitching additions the Cubs could make this winter.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top