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Cubs To Activate Pedro Strop

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The Cubs will welcome back reliever Pedro Strop from the injured list, manager Joe Maddon tells Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (Twitter link). Fellow righty Dillon Maples was optioned down to make room.

Strop’s return from a hamstring injury is an important step for a club that has had its share of relief issues of late. The Chicago pen has blown more saves (seven) in the past month than all but one other team (the Mets, with nine). Adding Strop back to the late-inning mix will not only give Maddon another key arm to work with in high-leverage situations but will help deepen the rest of the unit.

Soon to turn 34, Strop has long been a reliable piece for the Cubs. Since landing in Chicago, he carries a 2.71 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 342 frames of action. He has allowed just 5.7 hits and 0.6 home runs per nine in that span.

It’s tough to say much after a twelve-appearance sample, but Strop was perhaps a tick off to begin the season. His velocity has continued to trend down, albeit at a gentle pace, and he had permitted six earned runs in his 10 2/3 innings. Most of the damage came in two outings to open the year.

The Cubs will be glad to throw Strop back in the mix to see whether he can get back to his usual productivity. Whether or not he’ll retake the closer’s job from Steve Cishek remains to be seen. The club would prefer to have both of those pitchers working in a setup capacity in front of Brandon Morrow, but it’s anyone’s guess whether and when he’ll return.

Cubs Showing Interest In Craig Kimbrel

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All winter long and into the season, through the unavailability (for one reason or another) of backend bullpen notables Brandon Morrow, Pedro Strop and Carl Edwards Jr., messaging out of Chicago’s front office has been as consistent as the bullpen has been fickle: the Cubs have no money to spend. Yet, the Northsiders are suddenly showing interest in Craig Kimbrel, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

The Cubs financial story remains the same with one new wrinkle: an unfortunate family situation has left utility maven Ben Zobrist on the restricted list since May 8th. If his divorce continues to keep him out of action – which seems likelier than not at this point – the Cubs could recoup a good portion of his salary (in the neighborhood of $9MM), at least as far as the luxury tax is concerned. This new math could give the Cubs just enough room to make a viable run at Kimbrel. Roster resource pegs Chicago’s luxury tax number at around $223MM, whereas Spotrac puts the Cubs at around $200MM. The latter number puts the Cubs a little more than $5MM shy of paying the luxury tax, but Rosenthal suggests the Cubs aren’t as concerned about the tax in general as they are the $246MM line that incurs the harshest penalties. Whether current spending has them just under the first threshold ($206MM) or the second threshold ($226MM), either valuation of their current payroll ought to leave enough room to make a competitive offer to Kimbrel while staying under (at least) the final tax line. There are, of course, other potential suitors courting Kimbrel.

And yet, even if they can make the math work, the months of consistent messaging casts some doubt onto a Cubs’ pursuit of Kimbrel. What we know for certain is that Theo Epstein and company are not shy about doing due diligence, and if history holds, they’ll make at least one notable move before the trade deadline. Epstein has been active on the trade market throughout his Chicago tenure, making at least one deadline acquisition each season dating back to 2015: Dan Haren (2015), Aroldis Chapman & Mike Montgomery (2016), Jose Quintana, Alex Avila & Justin Wilson (2017), Cole Hamels, Brandon Kintzler & Jesse Chavez (2018). There aren’t many misses in this group either, as most of these acquisitions have found ways to contribute (nor are there many position players).

This year, of course, they won’t have the August 31 deadline to take advantage of as they have in every season since emerging as surprise contenders in 2015: Austin Jackson & Fernando Rodney (2015), Joe Smith (2016), Leonys Martin (2017) and Daniel Murphy (2018). In a condensed trading period, the Cubs may prove more aggressive in pursuing a backend talent like Kimbrel.

Still, this could be the year the Cubs don’t make an impact move. They’re not wholly unprepared to go to battle with the arms in-house, per The Atheltic’s Sahadev Sharma, who spotlights Dillon Maples, Rowan Wick, and Adbert Alzolay as three depth arms who could make a difference this summer.

Maples has a ton of swing-and-miss in his arsenal, but he also doesn’t have a clue how to harness it, as evidenced in his small sample with the big league club this year. Through six appearances, he’s amassed 4 2/3 innings with eight walks and ten strikeouts. A less-than-five-inning sample hardly packs enough punch to make a statement, but still, 15.4 BB/9 and 19.3 K/9 are jarring numbers to see, especially once you notice they aren’t that far off the norm for Maples. In parts of three seasons at Triple-A, Maples owns a 2.93 ERA with 8.0 BB/9 and 16.4 K/9.

Alzolay, meanwhile, has long been a promising arm for Chicago, but he has yet to make his major league debut, while Wick came to the Cubs from the Padres for Jason Vosler this past winter. Wick was recently recalled after posting strong numbers in Iowa (4.14 K/BB). The Cubs should have high aspirations come October, and betting on this trio of arms to outlast a deep division and long playoff run would be a gamble. So while they may be inclined to use the month of June to evaluate the arms in-house, a decision on Kimbrel will have to be made much much sooner.

Cubs Health Updates: Darvish, Chatwood, Morrow, Duensing

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The Cubs remain in good position in the NL Central, in no small part due to the recent heroics of recently acquired pitcher Cole Hamels. The veteran just wrapped up a complete-game performance tonight and has allowed less than one earned run per nine innings in his first five starts in a Cubs uniform. Of course, he would likely not have ended up in Chicago were it not for the difficulties experienced by a few of the team’s recently signed, high-priced starters.

  • Yu Darvish, Hamels’s former rotation mate in Texas, has already been declared out for the rest of the 2018 season. He addressed that fact with reporters today, with MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat among those on hand. The veteran righty says he felt all along “there was something else other than the tightness” he was experiencing in his pitching arm, so much so that the diagnosis of a stress reaction came as something of a relief. Darvish indicated that he’s not even thinking about the season to come so much as he is trying to care for his ailing arm. Still, he expressed confidence that he’ll bounce back and be “stronger going forward.” That’ll obviously be the hope of the Cubs organization, which still has $101MM invested in Darvish after the present season.
  • The club also announced today that righty Tyler Chatwood is headed to the DL with hip soreness, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune covers. He’ll be replaced on the roster by Dillon Maples, for the time being, with Alec Mills set to come up to start tomorrow. Chatwood has been plagued by walks all year long, racking up 93 to go with his 85 strikeouts over 101 2/3 innings. That’s simply not a manageable rate of free passes, as his 5.22 ERA reflects. Details of the new malady remain scant, but it certainly seems there are good reasons for the club to find cause to give Chatwood a breather regardless.
  • Another major recent open-market signee, Brandon Morrow, has performed as hoped when he has been available. But the closer has been sidelined for over a month with a balky elbow and still lacks a clear timeline. He went in for a checkup today, says Muskat. That examination evidently did not reveal anything of particular note, though it was not arranged due to any fear of a setback. It seems the hope remains that Morrow will return at some point in the final month of the regular season.
  • In other Chicago reliever news, Brian Duensing — yet another hurler who signed with the Cubs in free agency last winter — is headed for a rehab assignment. The 35-year-old southpaw, who carries an ugly 7.34 ERA on the year, has been on the shelf for the past several weeks with a shoulder ailment.

Cubs Place Anthony Bass On DL

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The Cubs have made a host of roster moves today (first announced by Patrick Mooney of The Athletic), chiefly among them the placement of right-hander Anthony Bass on the 10-day disabled list due to a back muscle issue. The move creates room for the recently acquired Jesse Chavez to be activated. The club also promoted righty Dillon Maples, optioned fellow righty James Norwood, and recalled righty Luke Farrell as the 26th man for today’s double-header against the Cardinals.

Bass has been excellent across 16 appearances for the Cubs so far this season, pitching to a 2.93 ERA in 15 1/3 innings. He’s also managed an impressive ground ball rate of 53.3%. Bass spent time on the disabled list earlier this month with what was described as an illness. When he’s been healthy, though, the 30-year-old has enjoyed a career-best performance, certainly an upgrade over his 4.51 career ERA and a career K/BB ratio worse than 2:1.

Chavez, recently acquired from the Rangers, has also been quietly enjoying an excellent season, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted at the time the trade was announced. Chavez will presumably see the same type of work with the Cubs as he did with the Rangers: multi-inning relief appearances. Though Chavez appeared 30 times on the mound with Texas, he managed to toss 56 innings during that time.

Cubs Place Kris Bryant On Disabled List

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The Cubs announced a lengthy series of roster moves Tuesday, most notably placing Kris Bryant on the disabled list (retroactive to June 23) due to left shoulder inflammation. Chicago also placed right-hander Justin Hancock on the DL due to inflammation in his right shoulder and optioned righty Duane Underwood Jr. back to Triple-A Iowa. In place of that trio, the Cubs are calling up right-hander Dillon Maples, right-hander Luke Farrell and infielder David Bote.

It’s the first career trip to the disabled list for Bryant, who entered play today hitting .280/.383/.481 with nine homers, 20 doubles and three triples so far on the season. There’s no timetable available yet for Bryant, who hasn’t played since this past Friday.

The 27-year-old Hancock has posted a strong 1.46 ERA in 12 2/3 innings for the Cubs so far, though his 11-to-9 K/BB ratio is far less encouraging. Underwood, 23, recently made his MLB debut in a spot start, tossing four innings of one-run ball.

Of the names being recalled to join the big league roster, Maples is the most noteworthy. The 26-year-old flamethrower is widely considered to be among Chicago’s best prospects, and the organization hopes that he can help to anchor the relief corps for years to come. If that’s to happen, though, Maples will have to considerably improve his control. The righty has the ability to wholly overpower opposing hitters, as evidenced by averaging better than 14 strikeouts per nine innings pitched across three minor league levels over the past two seasons. However, Maples’ control has been terrible in that time as well; he averaged 5.3 walks per nine innings pitched in 2017 and has issued 24 free passes in 25 1/3 innings with Triple-A Iowa so far in 2018.

Bote has been up and down with the Cubs this season, appearing in a total of eight games and hitting .263/.286/.368. The 25-year-old has a career .282/.360/.510 slash in 70 Triple-A games and has experience at every position other than catcher (including seven innings of minor league relief pitching). Farrell, 27, was claimed off waivers last October and has already pitched 20 innings in the Majors for the Cubs this year, recording a 4.50 ERA with 30 strikeouts against eight walks.

Cubs Select Maples, Freeman From Triple-A; Rosario, Frankoff Designated For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated right-handers Jose Rosario and Seth Frankoff for assignment to clear roster space for righty Dillon Maples and infielder/outfielder Mike Freeman, whose contracts have been selected from Triple-A Iowa. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets that another move will be on the horizon, as recently acquired Leonys Martin will join the team tomorrow. Martin is not presently on the 40-man roster.

Maples will join the Cubs’ roster having received his share of fanfare. He currently ranks 14th among Cubs prospects at MLB.com (albeit in a system that has been depleted by trades and by the graduation of many young talents to the big league roster). Maples was also highlighted by MLBTR’s Jason Martinez in his most recent edition of Knocking Down The Door.

The 25-year-old Maples has been a strikeout machine across three minor league levels in 2017, working to a combined 2.27 ERA with 14.2 K/9, 5.3 BB/9 and an enormous ground-ball rate (north of 62 percent). Control is obviously an issue for Maples, though Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note that his occasionally triple-digit fastball and pair of plus breaking pitches make Maples a potential closer if he can ever find a way to more consistently repeat his delivery and improve his control.

Freeman, who recently turned 30, has been up and down with the D-backs, Mariners and Dodgers over the past two seasons. He’s batted a meager .123/.206/.193 in 61 big league plate appearances, but he’s a lifetime .312/.377/.420 hitter in nearly 1500 Triple-A plate appearances and can play all over the diamond. He’s primarily been a second baseman, but Freeman has significant experience at shortstop and in center field. He’s also seen time at third base, first base and in the outfield corners, making him a flexible bench option for manager Joe Maddon down the stretch.

Rosario has been limited to 17 1/3 innings this year because of injuries and has pitched just 50 2/3 innings above Class-A Advanced despite the fact that he just turned 27. Rosario missed the entire 2015 campaign due to Tommy John surgery and has a career 4.84 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in the minors.

Frankoff, 29, made his big league debut with the Cubs this season but tossed only two innings. He’s spent the bulk of his career in the Athletics’ minor league ranks and has pitched to a 4.40 ERA with 9.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 through 116 2/3 innings in Triple-A Iowa this year — mostly out of the rotation (21 starts, three relief appearances).

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