The Cubs will, on Wednesday, call up Casey Coleman to fill the roster spot vacated by Carlos Zambrano. But, in the interim, the Cubs will shore up the bullpen by adding lefty Scott Maine.
Maine, 26, was brilliant in September last year, and got a look earlier this year. He was not as successful, registering a 10.29 ERA over seven innings and seven appearances. He allowed 16 base runners over those seven innings, so, yeah, it was not a great stint. He was much better after returning to AAA Iowa, however, posting a 3.99 ERA (which is quite good for the PCL this year) and a 1.268 WHIP over 47.1 innings. He struck out an impressive 62 over that stretch.
Maine is likely to head back down on Wednesday, unless the Cubs elect to give him an extended look in advance of 2012. In that case, the Cubs could send out Ramon Ortiz, whose future with the club is non-existent.