Cubs Claim Christian Roa
The Cubs have claimed right-hander Christian Roa, the Orioles announced. Baltimore designated Roa for assignment on Friday after acquiring fellow righty Eduarniel Núñez in a trade with the Athletics. MLBTR has learned that left-hander Riley Martin was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Roa. Martin hit the IL in late April with a flexor strain that was expected to cost him about eight weeks.
The 27-year-old Roa is no stranger to the waiver wire. He broke camp with the Astros, but was sent down after the first series of the season. Roa was designated for assignment after a second brief stint with the club in April. It set off a series of transactions that saw him bounce to multiple organizations. Roa was claimed, then DFAed by the Twins and Orioles in the span of a few weeks. He’s now landed in Chicago.
Roa permitted five earned runs over 8 2/3 innings with Houston. He had more walks (7) than strikeouts (6) across seven appearances. Roa’s time as an Astro represents his longest MLB look so far. He tossed three innings for the Marlins in 2025, his only other stretch in the big leagues.
Cincinnati took Roa in the second round of the 2020 draft. The righty put up solid numbers in the minors, but also struggled with walks, especially at the higher levels of the minors. Roa delivered a 31.0% strikeout rate across Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. Those swing-and-miss numbers, particularly for a pitcher who was already 24 years old, could’ve led to a call-up, except they came with an ugly 16.6% walk rate. Roa worked mostly as a reliever for the first time in 2024. He scuffled to a 5.55 ERA with Louisville and was DFAed at the end of the season.
Miami took a shot on Roa off the waiver wire. He was excellent as a full-time reliever with Jacksonville, posting a 2.83 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning in 50 appearances. Roa trimmed the free passes to 11.4%, which was an improvement. He debuted with the Marlins in September. Roa walked three but only permitted one hit. He tested free agency at the end of the year, landing with Houston on a minor league deal.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
Cubs’ Riley Martin To Miss Eight Weeks
Cubs rookie Riley Martin hit the injured list with what was originally described as elbow inflammation this weekend, but the left-hander has now been diagnosed with a flexor strain, per Marquee’s Taylor McGregor. He’s expected to miss around eight weeks, which would sideline the 28-year-old southpaw into late June.
It’s a tough development for both Martin and the Cubs. The 2021 sixth-rounder was added to the 40-man roster back in November in order to shield him from the Rule 5 Draft after he’d posted a 2.69 ERA and 30.7% strikeout rate in 63 2/3 Triple-A frames last year. He was recalled to the majors for his big league debut early this month. Martin’s first few weeks in MLB couldn’t have gone much better. He appeared in eight games and totaled 8 1/3 innings, holding opponents to a pair of runs (2.16 ERA) on five hits and two walks with 10 punchouts.
Martin’s flexor strain is the latest in a mounting number of bullpen injuries for a Cubs team that has also lost Porter Hodge (UCL surgery), Daniel Palencia (lat strain), Hunter Harvey (triceps inflammation) and Caleb Thielbar (hamstring strain) in recent weeks. Hodge’s season is over. Palencia’s lat strain isn’t on his throwing side, so he should be able to return within the next couple weeks. There’s been no indication that Thielbar or Harvey will require lengthy absences.
Even if each of Palencia, Thielbar and Harvey is back at some point in mid-May, it’s a worrisome number of injuries. The Cubs also lost Phil Maton for a couple weeks due to tendinitis in his knee. He returned last night but was tagged for two runs in an inning of work — his fourth straight appearance in which he was charged with two earned runs. Maton’s ERA on the young season sits at a sky-high 14.40, so it seems clear he hasn’t been functioning at 100% to this point.
In addition to both Thielbar and Martin being sidelined, the Cubs are also without 26-year-old lefty Jordan Wicks, who’s on the IL due to elbow inflammation. Left-handed relief is an area of some depth for the Cubs, and veteran Hoby Milner (who signed a one-year deal in free agency this winter) is still healthy, giving skipper Craig Counsell at least one experienced option. Ryan Rolison is currently on the roster as a second lefty, but the former Rockies prospect was a January waiver claim who’s yet to solidify himself in the majors. He’s pitched four scoreless innings so far as a Cub but has fanned only one of the 13 batters he’s faced.
Martin’s timetable makes him a candidate to move to the 60-day injured list the next time the Cubs need a roster spot. It’s feasible he’ll be able to return just inside a 60-day window, but that likely won’t dissuade the Cubs from making the move, given a difference of just a few days between his best-case scenario and that 60-day term. In the meantime, he’ll accrue major league service time and major league salary.
Cubs Select Yacksel Rios, Designate Vince Velasquez For Assignment
In a series of moves relayed by Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network, the Cubs are expected to select right-hander Yacksel Rios and recall lefty Charlie Barnes. Righty Vince Velasquez will be designated for assignment. Left-hander Riley Martin is heading to the 15-day injured list (retroactive to April 24) with elbow inflammation. The team has officially announced the moves.
Velasquez’s minor league contract was only just selected on Friday, and he pitched well in what could end up being his only appearance in a Chicago uniform. The right-hander allowed one hit over 2 1/3 shutout innings against the Dodgers in Velasquez’s first MLB outing since the 2023 season, when he was with the Pirates.
Elbow surgery sidelined Velasquez for the entire 2024 campaign, and his 2025 season saw him pitch both in the KBO League with the Lotte Giants and with the Guardians’ Triple-A club. Cleveland designated Velasquez for assignment and outrighted him off its 40-man roster last year, so that past outright means that Velasquez can opt for free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment from the Cubs if he clears waivers.
Velasquez could opt to stick around at Triple-A Iowa if for no other reason than the Cubs’ seemingly endless list of pitching injuries might allow him a relatively quick return to the Show. Chicago has eight relievers and 11 pitchers overall on the 15- or 60-day IL now that Martin has been sidelined.
Martin last pitched on Thursday, when he threw a scoreless inning in the Cubs’ 8-7 win over the Phillies. The rookie southpaw been quite impressive since making his Major League debut in early April, as Martin has a 2.16 ERA, 32.3% strikeout rate, and 6.5% walk rate over his first 8 1/3 innings and eight games as a big leaguer. A .222 BABIP has helped Martin avoid damage from a lot of the hard contact he has surrendered, but his 2.53 SIERA indicates that he has pitched well beyond that good fortune.
With Martin sidelined and Velasquez in DFA limbo, Rios and Barnes join the active roster as a pair of fresh arms for the beleaguered pen. This is Barnes’ second stint on the 26-man since his contract was initially selected earlier this month, and Barnes pitched in one game (allowing three earned runs in three innings) before being optioned to Triple-A.
Rios came to the organization on a minor league deal in January. The righty last appeared in the big leagues with the Athletics in 2023. He’s been in the Mets’ minor league system for the past two seasons. Rios has just over three years of MLB service time to his name. He’s spent parts of six big-league seasons with the Phillies, Pirates, Mariners, Red Sox, and A’s.
The 32-year-old Rios has a 6.32 career ERA and a checkered injury history. He was off to an uninspiring start to the Triple-A season, posting a 5.06 ERA across seven appearances with Iowa. Rios missed most of 2025 due to health issues. He delivered a solid minor league campaign in 2024, recording a 3.30 ERA with a strikeout per inning for Triple-A Syracuse.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Cubs To Promote Riley Martin
April 5: Martin’s recall and Horton’s placement on the IL are now official. In addition, the Cubs have recalled right-hander Ethan Roberts to the majors as the club’s 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Guardians.
April 4: The Cubs will promote left-hander Riley Martin from Triple-A Iowa to their active roster before today’s game with the Guardians, according to Bleacher Nation’s Jacob Zanolla. Martin is likely the corresponding move for Cade Horton‘s forthcoming placement on the 15-day injured list, and no other transaction is needed since Martin is already on Chicago’s 40-man roster.
The 28-year-old Martin will be making his Major League debut whenever he is first used in a game. The southpaw was a sixth-round pick for the Cubs in the 2021 draft, and he has pitched at the Triple-A level in each of the last four seasons. Working almost exclusively as a reliever, Martin has a 3.88 ERA and an impressive 30.67% strikeout rate over 139 1/3 innings in Iowa, but with an inflated 15.57% walk rate. Left-handed Triple-A batters contributed most of that damage, as Martin had significant reverse splits in both 2024 and 2025.
Baseball America ranked Martin 20th on its list of the top 30 Cubs prospects, while MLB Pipeline has the southpaw 28th on their top-30 ranking. He relies almost entirely on a plus curveball that, as per Pipeline’s scouting report, “can be devastating at times and also lose some shape and miss the zone by wide margins at others.” In general, Pipeline’s evaluation feels Martin “trades control for deception” in deploying an upright delivery to maximize the break on his pitches.
Chicago placed Martin on the 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and the lefty will now take the next step into the big leagues for the first time. Martin has often worked multiple innings out of the pen, giving the Cubs some extra length as they figure out how to manage Horton’s absence. Swingman Colin Rea could be the top candidate for rotation work, Ben Brown is another candidate already on the active roster, or the Cubs might use both pitchers and other arms for a bullpen game or two until Rea is fully stretched out for a starting role.
Cubs Select James Triantos, Pedro Ramírez, Riley Martin
The Cubs announced that they have selected infielders James Triantos and Pedro Ramírez as well as left-hander Riley Martin. Those three are now protected from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft. The club’s 40-man roster count is now at 32.
Triantos, a second-rounder out of high school in 2021, has been one of the more promising pure hitters in the system for the past few seasons. His stock is down after a poor season with Triple-A Iowa. Triantos only managed a .259/.315/.370 slash over 480 trips to the plate. He continued to put the ball in play at a high rate but without much authoritative contact. He hit seven homers and posted well below-average exit velocities. Triantos stole 31 bases while bouncing between second base and the outfield, so perhaps he can factor in as a utility piece in 2026.
Ramírez, a 21-year-old infielder out of Venezuela, is now the superior prospect in the eyes of Baseball America. He’s the only member of this trio to crack Chicago’s top 10 prospects on their recent update of the system. He’s a switch-hitting second/third baseman who batted .280/.346/.386 while stealing 28 bags in 563 plate appearances at Double-A Tennessee this year. Ramírez is also light on power but has excellent contact skills. He’ll probably get the bump to Iowa to begin 2026.
Martin is an Illinois native who was a sixth-rounder in 2021 out of Division II Quincy University. The 6’1″ southpaw has spent the past two seasons pitching out of the bullpen in Triple-A. He fired 63 2/3 innings of 2.69 ERA ball with a near-31% strikeout rate over 47 appearances. Martin struggles with walks and dished out free passes at a 13.4% clip. He works with a 94 MPH fastball and uses a mid-80s curveball as his favored secondary pitch.