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Cubs Designate Anthony Kay For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated left-hander Anthony Kay for assignment, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. His 40-man roster spot will go to prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, whose promotion was reported earlier today. Outfielder Alexander Canario was optioned to open an active roster spot.

Kay, 28, has made 13 appearances for the Cubs this season but with an earned run average of 6.35 in that sample. His eight strikeouts were a match for his eight walks, leading to subpar 14.8% rates in both categories. He’s spent more time in Triple-A this year and has had better results there. In 37 1/3 innings, he has a 4.10 ERA, 31.1% strikeout rate and 52.4% ground ball rate, though his 13.7% walk rate is still quite high.

Since the trade deadline has long passed, the Cubs will have to put Kay on waivers in the coming days. They already passed him through unclaimed back in January, before adding him back to the roster in June. That was his first outright, meaning he didn’t have the right to elect free agency at that time. But if he were to pass through unclaimed a second time, he would then have the right to reject another such assignment.

Kay was once a prospect of note, having gone from the Mets to the Blue Jays alongside Simeon Woods Richardson in the 2019 Marcus Stroman trade. He hasn’t been able to put it together yet, with a career ERA of 5.60 in 82 innings. If any club were intrigued by his past prospect stock or his strikeout stuff in the minors this year, the southpaw comes with five years of control, but he will be out of options next year.

Cubs Place Adbert Alzolay On IL With Forearm Strain

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The Cubs have placed right-hander Adbert Alzolay on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain, reports Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Fellow righty Michael Fulmer has been reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move.

It’s unclear at this point how long Alzolay is expected to be out, but it’s a worrisome development for the Cubs regardless. Alzolay is having a tremendous breakout season and has taken over the closer role for the Cubs. Through 63 innings this year, he has an earned run average of 2.71, racking up 22 saves in the process. He has struck out 26.4% of batters faced while walking just 4.8% of them and he has also kept the ball on the ground at a decent 42.4% clip.

More news on the severity of the injury will surely be forthcoming, but the timing is certainly unfortunate as there are now just three weeks left on the schedule. The Cubs are in the midst of a tight playoff race, three games back of the Brewers in the Central division and currently holding the second Wild Card spot in the National League, but with four clubs within 3.5 games of them.

They will now have to go through at least the next couple of weeks of that playoff push without their closer. That will potentially push pitchers like Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr. and José Cuas into the mix for the gig, with everyone moving up one notch on the bullpen chart.

Cubs To Promote Pete Crow-Armstrong

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The Cubs are calling up top outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’s expected to be activated prior to tomorrow’s game. The Cubs will need to make a 40-man roster move in order to formally select Crow-Armstrong’s contract.

Selected by the Mets with the No. 19 overall pick back in 2020, the now-21-year-old Crow-Armstrong was the headline prospect in the 2021 trade sending Javier Baez and Trevor Williams from Chicago to New York. Crow-Armstrong was already a prospect of note at the time, but his stock has skyrocketed since that swap; he currently ranks 12th on the leaguewide top-100 prospect lists at both Baseball America and MLB.com, while The Athletic’s Keith Law tabbed him 18th and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen pegs him 23rd.

While he’s long drawn praise as a 70- or even 80-grade defender in center field (on the 20-80 scale), Crow-Armstrong has grown into more power since being traded to the Cubs and now has the look of a potential five-tool center fielder. He’s split the current season between Double-A and Triple-A, turning in a combined .283/.365/.511 batting line with 20 home runs, 26 doubles, seven triples and 37 steals (in 47 tries).

Crow-Armstrong has whiffed a bit more often than the Cubs would prefer to see, punching out at a 25.8% rate against a higher-than-average (but far from elite) 9.2% walk rate. He’s also a 21-year-old facing much older and more experienced competition, so there’s likely some hope that he can continue to polish those bat-to-ball skills and refine his pitch selection as he ages.

The big picture hope for Crow-Armstrong is that he can become the Cubs’ everyday center fielder, holding down that position for the six-plus seasons which they’ll control him via arbitration. In the short-term, however, “PCA” will give the team an alternative to the struggling Mike Tauchman, who’s batting just .163/.295/.188 in 95 plate appearances over the past month. Cody Bellinger, of course, can handle center field as well, but he’s spent a fair bit of time at first base and designated hitter since returning from a knee injury earlier this summer. Crow-Armstrong can potentially allow him to continue doing so while still upgrading the outfield defense and perhaps providing some more offense than they’re currently receiving from Tauchman.

Even if he doesn’t play everyday, Crow-Armstrong adds a dynamic defender and plus threat on the basepaths who can be used late in games. That includes both in the regular season and potentially into October. While Crow-Armstrong wasn’t on the 40-man roster when the playoff eligibility deadline passed, he was still in the organization at that point, meaning the Cubs can petition the league to add him to the playoff roster in place of an injured player. Teams do this every year, and there’s no reason to think he won’t be able to suit up during postseason play.

In terms of service time considerations, Crow-Armstrong will remain under club control for six full seasons (plus the handful of days he’ll accrue late in the current year). Barring any future optional assignments that impact the trajectory, he’ll be controllable through the 2029 season and eligible for arbitration following the 2026 campaign.

Also of note for the Cubs is that the looming promotion to the big leagues won’t impact Crow-Armstrong’s rookie status for the 2024 season. He’ll surely be on every major top-100 prospect ranking heading into the 2024 season, meaning he’ll remain eligible for the new collective bargaining agreement’s “prospect promotion incentives,” which could net the Cubs bonus draft picks based on how he fares in future award voting.

Jeimer Candelario Exits With Back Tightness

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  • Cubs infielder Jeimer Candelario exited today’s game against the Diamondbacks due to back tightness, as manager David Ross told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) this evening, and will be re-evaluated tomorrow. Candelario has had a big rebound season since being non-tendered by the Tigers last winter, as the switch-hitter has slashed .254/.339/.475 in 553 trips to the plate split between the Nationals and Cubs this season. He’s cooled off a bit recently, slashing just .161/.257/.356 in his last 101 trips to the plate, but that month long cold stretch doesn’t change the fact that Candelario is a key piece of Chicago’s lineup alongside the likes of Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki as they look to return to the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2018. Should Candelario miss time with the injury, the club figures to rely on Nick Madrigal and Patrick Wisdom at third base.

Latest On Marcus Stroman

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  • Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman hasn’t pitched for the big league team since the end of July due to hip inflammation and a rib cartilage fracture, but continues to make progress on his return. With manager David Ross having indicated yesterday that Stroman is ahead of schedule following a successful live batting practice session on Thursday, it’s still nonetheless an encouraging sign for fans on the north side that Stroman is set to throw a second live BP at the club’s Arizona complex on Monday, per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney. It seems reasonable to expect that if Monday’s session goes well, Stroman could advance to a rehab assignment in fairly short order. While it’s not clear if there’s enough time left in the regular season for Stroman to build up to a starter’s workload, it’s becoming increasingly likely the veteran righty returns to the mound in Chicago before the season comes to a close. With the Cubs currently in the thick of the playoff hunt, it’s possible Stroman could impact the team into October even if he isn’t able to return before the end of the regular season.

Cubs Outright Shane Greene

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After clearing waivers, Shane Greene has been outrighted to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, as per the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Chicago designated Greene for assignment on Wednesday, and it isn’t yet known if he’ll accept the outright or (as is his right for a player with his amount of MLB service time) opt for free agency.

Greene has chosen free agency over past outright assignments, though the equation could be a little different this time since he already had an extended stint on the open market before signing a minor league deal with the Cubs in late June.  Given the late date on the calendar, Greene might prefer to stay in a familiar organization and bide his time for another call-up rather than roll the dice on landing with another team before the 2023 is over.

The Cubs selected Greene’s contract on September 1, and he threw one inning of scoreless ball in one appearance in the Show before being DFA’ed.  While just a cup of coffee on the active roster, it still means that Greene has now appeared in each of the last 10 Major League seasons, even if his 2022 participation also came in limited fashion (two games and six total innings with the Dodgers and Yankees).

The 34-year-old Greene is best known for his time as the Tigers’ closer, highlighted by a 2019 All-Star appearance.  After posting a 3.25 ERA over 221 1/3 relief innings from 2017-20 with Detroit and Atlanta, Greene hasn’t been the same since another lengthy stay in free agency.  Hitting the market during the 2020-21 offseason, Greene ended up not finding another big league deal until May 2021, re-signing with the Braves.  The righty has just 21 2/3 MLB innings under his belt since, with a 6.83 ERA.

Greene’s time with Triple-A Iowa consisted of five starts, which is notable since he hadn’t started a game at any level since 2016.  This could have been the Cubs’ way of rebuilding Greene’s arm strength since he didn’t have the benefit of a Spring Training, or it could be Greene’s way of trying to reinvent himself as something of a swingman rather than as a full-time reliever.  With a 2.21 ERA in 20 1/3 innings in Iowa, the results were intriguing enough that the experiment will probably continue if Greene remains in the organization, or this (albeit limited) success could also factor into Greene’s decision to potentially look to a new team.

Cubs Reinstate Brad Boxberger

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The Cubs reinstated right-hander Brad Boxberger from the 60-day injured list and optioned fellow righty Keegan Thompson to Triple-A Iowa, the team announced. The activation of Boxberger, who’s been out since mid-May with a forearm strain, brings Chicago’s 40-man roster to capacity.

Boxberger, 35, signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.8MM this offseason (in the form of a $2MM salary and an $800K buyout on a $5MM mutual option). He’s been limited to just 14 2/3 frames on account of this injury, however.

As one would expect from a pitcher dealing with forearm issues, the results in that timeframe were far from Boxberger’s previously established levels. The veteran righty’s velocity was down 0.8 mph from its 2022 levels and 1.5 mph from where it sat in 2021, and Boxberger was tagged for nine runs on 13 hits and nine walks. The resulting 5.52 ERA would be the worst mark of his 12-year MLB career, while his 20% strikeout rate would be his second-worst and his 13.8% walk rate would tie for his third-worst.

Difficult as the early stages of the season were for Boxberger, he of course has a lengthy track record of success. The right-hander spent the past two seasons with the division-rival Brewers, for whom he compiled 128 2/3 innings of 3.15 ERA ball while picking up five saves and 52 holds. Boxberger has pitched to a sub-4.00 ERA in eight of his 11 full big leagues seasons and dropped under the 3.00 mark four times (most recently last year’s 2.95). He carries a lifetime 3.51 earned run average in the Majors, with a hearty 28.8% strikeout rate against an 11.5% walk rate that has been his primary downfall during his worst seasons. Boxberger has 92 career holds and 84 saves, so he’s no stranger to working in leverage spots.

The Cubs will hope that they’re getting a healthier version of Boxberger whose results align more closely with his broader track record. Boxberger stumbled early in his minor league rehab stint but made four straight scoreless appearances (totaling 3 2/3 innings) before being activated — including scoreless outings on back-to-back days (his first time working on consecutive days since early May).

Ross: Stroman "Ahead Of Schedule" In Rehab

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  • Marcus Stroman hasn’t pitched since July 31 due to inflammation in his hip and, more problematically, a rib cartilage fracture that was discovered as he was on the cusp of returning from that hip issue. However, he tossed 29 pitches during a live batting practice session yesterday, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Cubs manager David Ross acknowledged that the right-hander appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery. Stroman will likely require at least one minor league rehab start (if not two), but it seems there’s a good chance the 32-year-old could return before season’s end — and perhaps factor into the postseason rotation. How Stroman fares down the stretch will be worth watching with a particularly close eye, as he has a $21MM player option for the 2024 season but has long appeared likely to decline that and return to the market in search of a lengthier pact.

Cubs Designate Shane Greene For Assignment

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The Cubs have announced to reporters, including Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, that right-hander Shane Greene has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to left-hander Luke Little, who was reported earlier to be coming up.

It’s a quick turnaround for Greene, 34, who was just selected to the roster a week ago. He pitched one scoreless inning on Sunday but will now relinquish his roster spot to Little as the club looks to strengthen its left-handed relief corps.

Prior to coming up to the big leagues, Greene was stretched out in the minors, an interesting development since he has primarily been a reliever for most of his big league career. He tossed 16 2/3 innings over five Triple-A starts, going as long as five innings in his penultimate outing there. He had a 2.21 earned run average in those, striking out 27.9% of hitters while walking 10.5%.

The Cubs will place him on waivers in the coming days. He’s made 344 career appearances at the major league level, with inconsistent results. He finished three separate seasons with an ERA at 2.67 or below but saw that shoot up to 7.23 in 2021. He was only able to make two appearances last year and one so far this year. He’ll see if any club is willing to give him a roster spot in the coming days, though he won’t be postseason eligible for that club since it’s after the September 1 cutoff.

Cubs To Select Luke Little

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The Cubs are promoting left-hander Luke Little to the majors, reports Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. Little isn’t on the 40-man roster but the Cubs already have a vacancy there. A corresponding move will be required to get him onto the active roster.

It’s a belated birthday present for Little, who turned 23 years old just a week ago. The ironically-named Little, listed at 6’8″ and 220 pounds, was selected by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. He made an 11-inning professional debut in the Complex League in 2021 before getting a larger body of work after that.

He split 2022 between Single-A and High-A, tossing 65 2/3 innings with a 2.47 earned run average. His 13.3% walk rate was on the high side but he paired that with a huge 35.4% strikeout rate. This year, he’s gone from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A with a combined 2.12 ERA in 63 2/3 frames. He’s still giving out walks at a high clip of 15.1% but is punching out 37.6% of batters faced.

Those strong results have gotten the attention of prospect evaluators, with Baseball America currently ranking him #19 in the Cubs’ system, highlighting his fastball velocity. He’ll now get a chance to try his hand at getting major league hitters out and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

The club hasn’t had much of a left-handed presence in its bullpen this year. Brandon Hughes made 17 appearances earlier in the season but has been out of action for a few months dealing with a knee injury. Anthony Kay has an ERA of 6.35 in his 13 contests and is currently on optional assignment. That leaves Drew Smyly, who struggled in the rotation and got bumped to the bullpen, as the club’s only southpaw reliever at the moment.

Bringing Little up to the big leagues will give them another option in that department as they enter the final few weeks of the playoff race. Their 75-64 record puts them 2.5 games back of the Brewers in the Central and in possession of the second National League Wild Card spot.

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