Cubs Select Nicky Lopez, Vince Velasquez
7:32 PM: Taylor McGregor further reports some additional moves for the Cubs: right-hander Vince Velasquez has been selected, and Caleb Thielbar was placed on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain. Additionally, Scott Kingery was designated for assignment to open an additional spot on the 40-man roster.
6:28 PM: The Chicago Cubs have made a 40-man roster move in advance of tonight’s clash against the Dodgers, adding infielder Nicky Lopez and transferring Porter Hodge to the 60-day IL, per Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network. Per the official player page, Scott Kingery has also been optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
Lopez, acquired yesterday from the Rockies, did not have to wait long for his reunion with the Cubs. Lopez made 14 appearances with the Northsiders last season (interesting enough, his first appearance came almost a year ago to the day). Now entering his seventh MLB season, Lopez has made a name for himself with solid glovework at multiple infield positions. The bulk of his work has come at 2B (2561 1/3 innings) and SS (2351 1/3 innings), though defensive metrics like DRS (-9) and FRV (-1) have soured on his glove at short to varying degrees in his last three seasons of work. Both metrics, however, look favorably on his work at the keystone (3 DRS/6 FRV) and the hot corner (5 DRS/4 FRV) since 2023.
The versatility will help manager Craig Counsell give the starters a day off and a lefty bat to play with in the lineup or off the bench. To be certain, Lopez doesn’t break the mold of a traditional, light-hitting utilityman. His career 73 wRC+ (100 is average) indicates he’s below-average at the plate, but to his credit, Lopez controls the zone relatively well with a low strikeout rate (14.3%). He hits for little power, and the speed he showcased in his Royals heyday (35/39 SB from 2021-2022) now clocks in closer to league average. Still, Lopez clearly made a good enough impression on the clubhouse and management last season to warrant a second bite of the apple.
Lopez will functionally be replacing Kingery on Counsell’s bench. Kingery has bounced around the league since his five-year run with the Phillies ended in 2022. Like Lopez, Kingery doesn’t offer much with the bat: the latter’s 72 wRC+ is nearly identical to that of his successor. But while Lopez offers some defensive upside, Kingery’s versatility is less notable. His glovework at second and third is more pedestrian (Kingery, to his credit, has graded better on the defensive metrics at short in a very small sample size).
Since Kingery has more than three years of service time and has been previously placed on outright waivers, he will have the option to decline the placement and opt for free agency if he goes unclaimed. However, doing so would forfeit his MLB salary ($1.25 MM), and given his recent MLB performance, he’s unlikely to match that by re-signing with another club. For the Cubs, there is a possible risk that another team claims Kingery, but given his salary commitment and performance, this largely amounts to a non-issue. Most likely, he’ll continue to ply his trade at Triple-A while awaiting another opportunity with the big league club.
Velasquez will be making a return to the MLB mound for the first time since a short (yet effective) stint with Pittsburgh in 2023. More recently, he pitched with the KBO Lotte Giants to poor results, with an 8.23 ERA in 35 innings. While there’s an element of misfortune there (ERA predictor xFIP gauged him closer to a 5-ERA performance), it probably wasn’t the results Velasquez was hoping for on his foray into Korea.
Regardless, the Cubs saw enough to sign him to a minor league deal before Spring Training. Most likely, Velasquez’s role will be to soak up some innings as the long reliever in the bullpen when the score goes sideways. It remains to be seen how effective he’ll be in his role, given his MLB layoff, but at the very least, he’s a once-proven MLB arm with ample experience.
Thielbar’s IL placement could strain the Chicago bullpen, given his excellent work last year. At the tender age of 38, Thielbar turned in arguably the best season of his career: a 2.64 ERA in 58 IP with 25 holds. While SIERA found him a little lucky based on his peripherals and batted balls, his 3.24 mark would still be a fine number for a back-end bullpen arm. The Cubs’ bullpen has done relatively well in the early going, with a top-10 ERA (SIERA sees them as more middle-of-the-pack), but losing a quality, high-leverage lefty alongside closer Daniel Palencia will be tough to navigate.
In the interim, the Cubs will have a few options at their disposal to close out games. Righty Ben Brown, operating exclusively in relief, has been excellent in 19 innings. He only has one hold and a blown save in high-leverage innings this year, but his performance makes him a clear standout for the later innings. Lefty Hoby Milner could also be an option: while he lacks the velocity of Brown, he has a longer track record of success, helping to bridge to the closer with 18 holds in 2025.
To make room on the 40-man, Hodge was moved to the 60-day IL following UCL surgery. Given that Hodge won’t make any further appearances in 2026, this move is largely a formality.
Cubs Notes: Assad, Palencia, Hodge
The Cubs are moving Javier Assad to the bullpen, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). He makes way in the rotation for Matthew Boyd, who was activated from the 15-day injured list to start tonight’s game against the Phillies.
Assad keeps his spot on the active roster for now, as southpaw Luke Little was optioned out in the corresponding move. The righty opened the year on optional assignment to Triple-A. Chicago recalled Assad when Boyd went down on April 6 with a biceps strain.
The 28-year-old Assad took three turns through the rotation, pitching quite well in two of those appearances. Assad worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings to beat the Rays in his season debut. He allowed only an MJ Melendez solo home run across 5 2/3 frames in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over the Mets. The intervening appearance was rough, as Philadelphia torched him for nine runs and a loss on April 13.
In other bullpen news, Counsell provided an update on injured closer Daniel Palencia. The Cubs placed him on the 15-day injured list last Friday. The team initially announced it as a left oblique strain. Further testing revealed that Palencia actually suffered a mild lat strain, relays Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.
Lat strains can lead to extended absences for pitchers, though this one isn’t expected to be serious. Palencia is a right-handed pitcher, so a left lat strain isn’t as concerning as one on the other side of his body would be. He’s likely to resume throwing this week and could be reinstated around two weeks from now. Palencia is eligible to return next Wednesday, and while he’s unlikely to be ready quite that soon, he’ll probably be back shortly after a minimal stay. Caleb Thielbar has picked up Chicago’s two saves since Palencia landed on the shelf.
The Cubs also announced that Porter Hodge underwent his previously reported UCL surgery this week. The team indicated it’ll be a 12-14 month recovery, as he required a Tommy John ligament reconstruction and the internal brace procedure. He’ll inevitably move to the 60-day injured list once the Cubs need a 40-man roster spot. Hodge will begin next season on the injured list as well, probably requiring another 60-day IL stint.
Porter Hodge To Undergo UCL Surgery
Cubs right-hander Porter Hodge will undergo surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, reports Taylor McGregor of the Marquee Sports Network. He will miss the entire 2026 season and likely part of 2027 as well.
It’s obviously an unwelcome development for Hodge, in addition to being another blow for the Chicago pitching staff. He began this season on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain. Now that he’s going to miss the remainder of the campaign, he’ll be transferred to the 60-day IL at some point in the future when the Cubs need a 40-man roster spot.
Hodge seemed to break out with the Cubs in 2024. He pitched 43 innings out of their bullpen that year, allowing 1.88 earned runs per nine. His 11.6% walk rate was on the high side but he punched out 31.7% of batters faced, averaging in the upper 90s with his fastball. He earned enough trust to rack up nine saves and nine holds that year. He got some help from a .189 batting average on balls in play and 80.1% strand rate but it was an encouraging season nonetheless.
His results backed up in 2025. His strikeout rate fell to 27.2%, still above average but well below the previous season. His walk rate ticked up a bit to 12.2%. His batted ball luck returned to normal levels and he fell victim to some home run troubles. The end result was a 6.27 ERA on the year. An oblique strain and a shoulder impingement may have impacted his ability to get in a groove.
Ideally, 2026 would have been a bounceback year but that won’t happen now. As mentioned, he has already been on the IL all season and will now stay there. The one silver lining for him personally is that he’ll collect big league pay and service time for the year. He began the season with his service clock at one years and 117 days. There’s a small chance he could qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player, depending on where the cutoff lands at season’s end.
For the Cubs, it’s another blow to the pitching staff. They have already lost Cade Horton to his own UCL surgery. Justin Steele is still working his way back from last year’s UCL surgery. Matthew Boyd, Jordan Wicks, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton and Ethan Roberts are also on the IL. Some of those guys will be back in the mix later this season but the Cubs will now have to plan on getting through 2026 without any contributions from Hodge.
For now, they have a bullpen consisting of Daniel Palencia, Ben Brown, Caleb Thielbar, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner, Riley Martin, Luke Little and Ryan Rolison. They have Gavin Hollowell and Charlie Barnes on optional assignment. Swingman Colin Rea is in the rotation but could be pushed back to the bullpen if some injured starters get healthy. The injured relievers could also come off the IL in the future and bolster the depth chart, but it’s also possible further injuries arise in the interim.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Porter Hodge, Jordan Wicks Likely To Begin Season On Cubs’ IL
Right-hander Porter Hodge and left-hander Jordan Wicks are each dealing with arm problems and will probably start the season on the 15-day injured list, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian). Hodge has a right flexor strain, while Wicks is dealing with radial nerve irritation in his left forearm.
Hodge hasn’t pitched since February 27, and he hasn’t looked right in any of his three Cactus League outings this spring, with a whopping 31.50 ERA to show for two innings of work. Counsell said Hodge’s flexor strain doesn’t appear to be serious in terms of a long-term absence, though the righty will be shut down for the next two weeks to heal up.
Wicks’ forearm issue was initially described just as irritation, with an MRI revealing no structural problems. Nerve problems can tend to linger, though the good news is that Wicks has been able to play catch, and Counsell is hopeful the southpaw will start throwing off a mound by the middle of March.
It was no guarantee that either pitcher was going to make the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, though today’s news means that both the rotation and bullpen depth charts have taken a hit. Wicks (the 21st overall pick of the 2021 draft) worked just as a reliever during his eight MLB appearances in 2025, though he has pitched mostly as a starter throughout the rest of his time in the majors and minors.
Despite his draft pedigree and some top-100 prospect attention during his time in the minors, Wicks has yet to establish himself as a big leaguer, with a modest 5.21 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate to show for 95 career innings with the Cubs. Past injuries haven’t helped (Wicks missed a big chunk of 2024 due to a forearm strain and an oblique strain), and Wicks spent 2025 being shuttled back and forth between Chicago and Triple-A Iowa with only sporadic usage in the majors.
Hodge burst onto the scene with a 1.88 ERA and 31.7% strikeout rate over 43 innings in his 2024 rookie season, albeit with the benefit of a .189 BABIP. Things didn’t go nearly as smoothly last year, as Hodge spent close to two months on the IL due to oblique and shoulder problems, and he posted only a 6.27 ERA over 33 innings of work. As per the SIERA metric, Hodge’s two big league seasons haven’t been too dissimilar (3.22 in 2024, 3.80 in 2025), and he remains an intriguing bullpen arm if he can stay healthy and figure out some control problems.
Cubs Option Ben Brown
The Cubs announced Tuesday that they’ve optioned righty Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa. Reliever Porter Hodge was reinstated from the injured list in a corresponding move. Brown’s demotion opens a spot in the rotation for lefty Shota Imanaga, who is set to return to start Thursday’s game for Chicago.
It’s been an up-and-down season for the 25-year-old Brown, who has at times looked the part of a potential long-term member of the Cubs’ rotation. More often than not — and especially recently — he’s struggled to work deep into games, however. Brown is sitting on a 6.13 ERA at this point, a number that’s been inflated over the past five weeks. In Brown’s past seven starts, he’s had individual outings wherein he’s yielded six runs (twice) and eight runs (twice). It’s derailed a decent start to the season for the promising young righty and has at least for now cost him his spot on the big league roster.
Imanaga’s return will bolster what’s been a reeling Cubs staff. They’ve made no secret about their plans to upgrade the rotation via the trade market. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer publicly said as much just two weeks ago. Even beyond that comment, a need for help was readily apparent. Chicago has lost ace Justin Steele for the season due to elbow surgery. Young righty Javier Assad has yet to pitch this season due to multiple oblique injuries. Colin Rea was excellent upon first moving into the rotation but has struggled over the past month, just as Brown has. Imanaga was sidelined nearly two months with a hamstring injury.
The Cubs’ need for pitching is no secret, but they’re one of just several clubs looking for immediate rotation help — and doing so at a time when there are few clubs around the league willing to engage in genuine trade conversations. Be that as it may, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score said in a radio appearance on 670’s Mully & Haugh this week (audio link) that the Cubs are being extremely aggressive and working on multiple fronts. Levine suggested a deal could come together well ahead of next month’s trade deadline and possibly even within the next week to ten days.
Levine downplayed the possibility of the Cubs acquiring former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, who’s slowly turning his season around after an awful start to the year in his return from Tommy John surgery. (Alcantara has a 2.74 ERA and 19-to-5 K/BB ratio in 23 innings across his past four starts.) Rather, he suggests that the Cubs have been looking at some less-obvious trade candidates around the league.
The Marlins themselves have other, less-heralded trade candidates than Alcantara (e.g. Edward Cabrera). The Mets appeared to have some arms available before injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill thinned their depth. Clubs like the Orioles, Twins and D-backs could ultimately end up with starters on the market, but none of them seem ready to move in a sell direction with five-plus weeks before the deadline. The Rays can never be discounted as a possible trade partner at any juncture, and they’re again rich in pitching (at a time when Joe Boyle and Ian Seymour are thriving in Triple-A). Zack Littell is almost certain to be available as a rental, but an aggressive team could try to make a more substantial offer for someone like Drew Rasmussen.
Those are all speculative possibilities, of course. The Cubs have kept their rotation search generally close to the vest. With Brown and Rea struggling recently and Matthew Boyd a bit banged up — he exited his most recent start after a rough landing on his shoulder when spearing a J.P. Crawford comeback liner (video link) — the need has become more noticeable. Boyd is on track to start tomorrow’s game for the Cubs, and the team called the issue “minor,” but it’ll still be worth tracking how he gets through tomorrow’s outing.
As for Brown, he’ll head back to Triple-A and look to get back on track. Injuries to any pitching staff are an inevitability, so even if the Cubs wind up adding a starter sooner than later, as Levine suggests, additional opportunities for Brown to start games could present themselves as the summer wears on. This is his second of three option years for the right-hander, so even if he stays down longer than 20 days and formally burns a minor league option, he’ll retain one more option year and remain a flexible piece for the Cubs moving forward. If Brown spends more than two weeks in Triple-A, it’d push his path to free agency back by a year.
Jed Hoyer: Cubs Planning To Look For Pitching At Deadline
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer joined the New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman for an interview on the latest edition of The Show podcast (YouTube link), and discussed a number of topics about both his team and baseball at large. Though we’re still several weeks away from the July 31 trade deadline, Hoyer did address his first-place team’s likeliest need.
“I think we’re going to be looking for pitching, both rotation and in the bullpen,” Hoyer said. “I don’t think that’s a secret. That’s not a knock on the guys we have. But I think in today’s game, you’ve got to keep building depth.”
Justin Steele pitched in just four games before his season was prematurely ended by a UCL revision surgery, thus robbing Wrigleyville of one of its top arms for almost the entirety of the 2025 campaign. Javier Assad hasn’t pitched at all this season due to a pair of oblique injuries, and since he only started playing catch a couple of weeks ago, it would seem that a return prior to the All-Star break might not be in the cards. Shota Imanaga hasn’t pitched since May 4 due to a hamstring strain, and Hoyer said “the hope is” Imanaga will be able to return to the rotation before the end of June.
Without their two top pitchers and another hurler in Assad that expected to at least compete for a back-end rotation job, Chicago has done well to hold its own on the rotation front even with such a depleted set of starters. Hoyer made a point of praising his in-house starters and his team’s defense for helping the run-prevention efforts, yet bringing at least one starting pitcher into the fold seems like a logical way to reinforce the roster heading into the pennant drive.
As one might expect, Hoyer didn’t share any hints about how big of a splash the Cubs are looking to make at the deadline, and still couched his comments within the framework of “if” the front office chose to make any additions by July 31. It could be that Hoyer may not know the answer to such questions himself at the moment, as the Cubs’ trade pursuits may hinge on Imanaga’s assumed healthy status by July 31, Assad’s progress, or any other injuries or pitchers who are under- or overachieving in the coming weeks.
Hoyer also said that Porter Hodge is expected to return from his own oblique injury before June is out, which will bring another high-leverage candidate back to help the relief corps. As Hoyer put it, however, bullpens are “always a work in progress…I don’t think you ever get to a point of feeling comfortable or feeling like it’s a set thing.” With this in mind, the pen will be a focus both on July 31, and “we’ll keep on making small transactions [before the deadline] as well to get marginally better.”
On the flip side of the equation, Hoyer doesn’t see the Cubs doing much to alter its impressive core of position players on the trade front. The Cubs have been one of baseball’s best hitting teams, with the powerful offense helping make up for any of the pitching staff’s shortcomings.
“Barring injury, there are probably some small things [we’ll consider] on the offensive side, but really I think that our position-playing group has been really good….The depth we have, top to bottom, I think we’re getting production both offensively and defensively from all our spots. That’s made a huge difference. As I think about it, pitching is the likely direction we would take if we were adding [at the deadline],” Hoyer said.
In terms of other topics, Hoyer said he wouldn’t comment publicly on either the existence of any extensions talks between the Cubs and Kyle Tucker, or even any talks between himself and the team on a new deal, as Hoyer’s current contract is up after the 2025 season. Hoyer repeated past comments about how he hoped Tucker would stay in Chicago over the long term, and how much he has enjoyed his own 14-season tenure in the organization as first a general manager and then the head of the baseball operations department.
Hoyer did go into a little more detail about what might now be the most impactful trade of his five-year run as PBO — the July 2021 deadline deal that brought Pete Crow-Armstrong to the then-rebuilding Cubs from the Mets for Javier Baez, Trevor Williams, and some cash considerations. New York took Crow-Armstrong 19th overall in the 2020 draft so it wasn’t as if PCA was an unknown quantity, yet a shoulder surgery limited the outfielder to only six games in his first pro season.
The Mets weren’t willing to discuss moving more highly-touted prospects at the time, as Hoyer said such players as Francisco Alvarez, Matt Allan, and Brett Baty were “off the table” in trade talks. Mark Vientos “was a guy that was kind of discussed a little bit but it was clear they didn’t want to part with him,” Hoyer noted, so discussions turned towards elsewhere on New York’s minor league depth chart.
Crow-Armstrong “was sort of out of sight, out of mind, I believe,” Hoyer said. “Looking back, I think his injury didn’t allow him to perform, and therefore I think he became a guy [the Mets] were willing to trade in that deal. So I think it was good fortune for us that they did take some really good players off the table, and most of those guys are helping the Mets right now, but Pete’s injury allowed that to happen and it worked out really well for us.”
While Hoyer felt Crow-Armstrong was going to improve as a hitter during his second full Major League season, even the executive admitted to being a little surprised at the extent of the breakout. PCA has been one of the very best all-around players in the sport, delivering 17 homers, 21 stolen bases, and a .277/.313/.559 slash line over 275 plate appearances while also playing Gold Glove-level defense in center field.
Cubs Activate Ian Happ, Option Moises Ballesteros
2:35pm: The Cubs have announced the Happ/Ballesteros swap as well as Hodge landing on the IL. Right-hander Ethan Roberts has been recalled as the corresponding move for Hodge.
10:28am: The Cubs are welcoming Ian Happ back from the injured list for tonight’s game in Miami, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer tells the Mully & Haugh Show on 670 The Score. Rookie Moisés Ballesteros will be optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
That’s not the only forthcoming roster move. Manager Craig Counsell told Maddie Lee of The Chicago Sun-Times last night that Porter Hodge is heading to the 15-day IL with a left oblique injury. They could recall someone from Triple-A this afternoon to take Hodge’s bullpen spot, though it’s possible they’ll activate Ryan Brasier from his own IL stint instead.
The Happ/Ballesteros swap is a reversal of last week’s roster move. Chicago placed the veteran outfielder on the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 10, with a left oblique strain. That was evidently very mild, as he’s back after a minimal stint despite the tendency for many oblique strains to linger for weeks. Ballesteros was called up for the first time. Hoyer said this morning that Ballesteros was aware at the time that it’d be a brief promotion no matter how well he played, as the Cubs always intended to send him back down once Happ returned from what they expected to be a minimal IL stint.
Ballesteros, 21, was raking at .368/.420/.522 clip over 34 games in Iowa. He’s a career .288/.371/.459 minor league hitter despite consistently being one of the youngest players at each level at which he’s appeared. He didn’t produce much in his first look at MLB pitching, going 3-16 with a pair of walks over five games. He hit a run-scoring single off the White Sox’s Yoendrys Gómez for his first big league hit on Friday and had his first multi-hit effort in last night’s loss to the Marlins.
The Cubs used Ballesteros strictly as a designated hitter over the past week. He’s a polished offensive player but needs to continue developing as a catcher in Iowa. Happ’s return to the lineup will push Seiya Suzuki back to DH from left field. Happ will presumably slot back at the top of the batting order. He’s hitting .269/.364/.381 through 187 plate appearances.
Hodge, 24, has been Counsell’s most frequent choice in high-leverage situations. He has allowed a 5.12 ERA through 19 1/3 innings. His 22.6% strikeout rate is way down from last year’s excellent 31.7% mark. It’s not especially strong production overall, though the lackluster ERA is mostly attributable to one six-run blowup at the hands of the Diamondbacks a month ago. He has allowed three earned runs in 9 2/3 frames since that appearance, albeit with six strikeouts and walks apiece.
Ryan Pressly entered the season as the Cubs closer. He has not pitched well and has not recorded a save since April 13. Hodge had been leading something of a committee approach to the ninth inning. Daniel Palencia has stepped up as one of Counsell’s more trusted late-game arms. The Cubs called on him for what would’ve been his first save of the season last night. He entered the ninth inning with a 7-6 lead and quickly recorded the first two outs before allowing a double, a walk, and a two-run walk-off triple to Jesús Sánchez.
The Cubs’ Bullpen Outlook
The Cubs entered spring training this year with their bullpen largely set. Offseason trade acquisitions of Ryan Pressly and Ryan Brasier added a pair of veteran righties — including a closer, Pressly — to the late-inning mix. Chicago signed lefty Caleb Thielbar to a one-year, $2.75MM deal. That trio joined Porter Hodge, Tyson Miller and Keegan Thompson as virtual locks. All three holdovers pitched very well in 2024, and the latter two are out of minor league options.
There are plenty of candidates for the remaining spots, the bulk of whom are on the 40-man roster already. Righty Julian Merryweather is coming off a poor showing in an injury-marred season that included an April rib fracture and season-ending knee surgery in September. He yielded 11 runs in 15 innings (6.60 ERA), but Merryweather was excellent in 2023, logging a 3.38 ERA and 32.3% strikeout rate in 72 innings for the Cubs. He’s also out of minor league options, which surely gives him a leg up on others. (Four scoreless spring innings with a 5-to-1 K/BB ratio so far isn’t hurting his cause, either.)
Others on the 40-man roster include righties Nate Pearson, Eli Morgan, Jack Neely, Daniel Palencia, Ethan Roberts and Gavin Hollowell. All have at least one minor league option remaining. However, the Cubs have at least one non-roster invitee who’s making a push for a spot: veteran righty Brad Keller.
Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote yesterday that Keller’s average fastball is up more than three miles per hour this spring, sitting 96.3 mph and topping out at 98 mph. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and manager Craig Counsell both spoke highly of Keller’s stuff this spring, with the skipper noting to Lee that Keller has been “more than we expected” so far in camp. Keller’s four runs in seven innings of work don’t stand out, but teams are far more focused on raw stuff, velocity and command when looking at such a small sample. Keller has allowed only seven hits and a walk while punching out six hitters and inducing grounders at a 48% clip so far.
Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports that Keller’s velocity jump and smoother mechanics have not only made him a legitimate consideration to break camp but made it “likely” that the team will add Keller to the roster. The veteran righty has a looming opt-out opportunity in his deal, so the Cubs will either have to select his contract to the big league roster or risk him landing with another team. His minor league pact comes with a $1.5MM base salary, per Mooney, making Keller an affordable addition to the relief corps if the team sees fit.
Adding Keller to the mix, however, comes with complications. Right now, the Cubs have six relievers who cannot be optioned to the minors in the running for bullpen spots: Pressly, Brasier, Thielbar, Miller, Thompson and Merryweather. Hodge has a full slate of minor league options remaining, but coming off a 1.88 ERA and 31.7% strikeout rate in 43 rookie innings, he’s not going anywhere. He’s locked into a seventh spot in the ‘pen.
Effectively, unless the Cubs are willing to move on from Merryweather, they only have one bullpen spot available. Plugging Keller into that spot would render their bullpen largely static, barring injury. Keller has more than five years of MLB service (6.062, to be more specific). He can’t be optioned without his consent.
That level of bullpen inflexibility is tough for any team to manage. Early off-days in the season would help, but if the Cubs needed to call up a fresh arm at any point, they’d be left choosing between optioning Hodge or designating someone for assignment. It’s not an ideal setup. (The Mets faced a similar situation with their bench when weighing whether to re-sign Jose Iglesias, which is largely why he ended up with the Padres.)
The situation would only grow murkier when righty Javier Assad is healed up from an oblique injury. Assad has been ruled out for Opening Day and is presumably IL-bound to begin the year. If he returns in April, however, he’d likely push righty Colin Rea from the fifth starter’s spot to a long relief role. Rea, like many of his teammates on the staff, can’t be optioned. The Cubs could technically option Assad, but he pitched 147 innings of 3.73 ERA ball out of the rotation last year; his strikeout, walk an home run rates all point to some regression, but Assad has still pitched well enough to this point in his career (3.40 ERA in 294 innings) that he can be considered a lock when healthy.
It’s always possible that further injuries sort the situation out organically. Injuries, particularly on the pitching side of things, are an inevitability for any team over the course of a six-week spring training and 162-game season. But with the bulk of the pitching staff healthy right now and minimal flexibility due to their lack of optionable arms, the Cubs seem like they’ll be forced into some decisions on those out-of-options arms sooner than later.
Cubs Notes: Infield, Pressly, Little
The Cubs’ infield alignment figures to be in flux throughout both the Tokyo Series and perhaps even into the early days of the season stateside. As noted by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers earlier this week, second baseman Nico Hoerner will not be participating in the Tokyo Series with the Cubs as he recovers from offseason flexor tendon surgery. Instead, Hoerner will stay behind in Arizona in hopes of being ready for the start of the stateside regular season on March 27, which Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times notes the infielder currently appears to be “on track” for.
That’s fairly good news overall, as Hoerner entered camp with an unknown timeline for return from surgery and it wouldn’t have necessarily been a shock to see him miss the first few weeks of the regular season. In that context, missing just the first two games of the year would be a notable win. What complicates matters further, however, is the questions surrounding top prospect Matt Shaw. The club’s presumptive starting third baseman, Shaw has been slowed by an oblique issue this spring and has yet to get into a game.
Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network relayed comments from manager Craig Counsell earlier this week on Shaw’s status. Counsell noted that the Cubs “aren’t ruling [Shaw] out for anything,” suggesting he could be in play for the Tokyo Series. With that being said, however, Shaw has not yet made his Spring Training debut despite Counsell referring to Shaw as “not too far” from getting into games last week.
While Hoerner is unavailable, utility man Jon Berti figures to slide into the opening at second base. If Shaw is also unavailable for the Tokyo Series, however, things could get a bit more complicated. The final bench spot for the club’s ultimately 26-man roster remains up for grabs, with Rule 5 pick Gage Workman, trade acquisition Vidal Brujan, and non-roster invitee Nicky Lopez all in the conversation to join Berti, Carson Kelly, and Justin Turner on the club’s bench.
Any of them could be in the conversation to cover for Shaw in the event that both Shaw and Hoerner are unavailable for the start of the season, although it seems as though Turner could be an option as well. The 40-year-old hasn’t played third base on a regular basis since 2022, but the veteran told reporters (including those at Marquee Sports Network) that he’s been taking “a lot of” reps at the hot corner this spring to stretch out his arm in order to be ready to fill in at the position if necessary.
Moving on to the bullpen, veteran right-hander Ryan Pressly was acquired from the Astros this winter to help bolster the club’s bullpen mix. Reporting at the time of the trade suggested that Pressly was assured that he would be the club’s top candidate for saves this season prior to waiving his no-trade clause to join the club. That could certainly be the case, and Lee writes that Pressly remains a favorite for the closer job, though it’s worth noting she also acknowledges young right-hander Porter Hodge as another potential favorite for save opportunities. Hodge dazzled in his rookie season last year, posting a sterling 1.88 ERA with a 2.75 FIP in 43 innings of work while picking up nine saves along the way.
Given that framing of Pressly and Hodge as both being potential favorites for the closer job, it’s possible that the club could utilize both hurlers in the ninth inning depending on matchups. For his part, Pressly expressed a preference for pitching in the ninth inning but made clear that he doesn’t see the role as assured.
‘‘I’ve done every role under the sun in the bullpen, but I really felt like I got my stride when I was in that ninth-inning role,’’ Pressly said, as relayed by Lee. ‘‘And I’m happy for the opportunity to be back in it. And now it’s just a matter of seeing what I can do with it.’’
Elsewhere in the bullpen, Lee reports that southpaw Luke Little threw live batting practice for the first time of the spring yesterday. Little has been slowed throughout camp due to what pitching coach Tommy Hottovy described to Lee as “typical offseason issues” that impacted the southpaw’s buildup this winter unrelated to the lat strain that ended his 2024 season. It’s unclear whether Little will be ready for domestic Opening Day or not, though as a reliever with options remaining in a crowded bullpen the southpaw may wind up starting the season at Triple-A Iowa even if he’s healthy.
Cubs Recall Porter Hodge For MLB Debut
The Cubs on Friday recalled right-hander Porter Hodge from Triple-A Iowa and placed fellow righty Colten Brewer on the 15-day injured list due to tightness in his lower back, tweets Meaghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Hodge will give the Cubs a fresh arm in the bullpen, and if he gets into a game, it’ll be his big league debut.
Hodge, 23, was the team’s 13th-round pick back in 2019. He entered the season ranked 19th among Cubs prospects at Baseball America and 24th at both FanGraphs and MLB.com. His season thus far has been a mixed bag. Hodge fired four shutout innings in Double-A, yielding only one hit and one walk with eight punchouts before being promoted to Triple-A Iowa. Since moving up to Des Moines, he’s struggled to a 6.55 ERA (eight earned runs in 11 innings) while surrendering a dozen hits and issuing a whopping 11 walks. He’s still fanned nearly one in three opponents, but he’s also walked more than one in five of them.
Command has long been an issue for Hodge. He’s walked 12.9% of his opponents dating back to the 2022 season. Scouting reports on the big 6’4″, 230-pound righty tout both his heater and his slider as potential plus offerings, but the effectiveness of both could be undercut by shaky command of each. There’s potential for the right-hander to play a long-term role in the Chicago bullpen, but he’ll likely need to trim a few points of his walk rate to reach his ceiling as a high-leverage reliever.
Brewer, 31, was a minor league signee whom the Cubs called to the big leagues last month. He’s pitched 11 2/3 innings for manager Craig Counsell and turned in a 3.09 ERA with a 12-to-4 K/BB ratio and a strong 48.4% ground-ball rate. The team has not yet provided a timetable for Brewer’s potential return to the roster.