As noted this morning, the Chicago Cubs (and San Diego Padres) get to add a 26th man for the day of a doubleheader. With so many relievers used yesterday, it’s no surprise that the Cubs are going with another arm, despite having eight already in the bullpen.
The man of the day is Carl Edwards, Jr., who got a cup of coffee in the big league pen late last year, and has been pitching out of the Iowa bullpen this season.
There aren’t a lot of stats to cull right now, but in 11.1 innings of work at AAA, Edwards has posted a 2.38 ERA and a near identical 2.36 FIP. He’s doing what he does, which is walking a scary number of hitters (14.3%), but also striking out a ridiculous number of hitters (36.7%).
It seems like Edwards is now pretty much set as a reliever long-term, and he figures to be an impact arm for the Cubs as soon as the second half of this season.
[adinserter block=”1″]With Kyle Hendricks going in game one today, the Cubs may have a need for about three innings of bullpen work, even if Hendricks pitches well. John Lackey is typically good for an extra inning or two, so hopefully the Cubs will have plenty of coverage for the day. Still, it would be nice to see Edwards get an inning today.
Edwards will be up for today, and, barring a surprise injury elsewhere on the staff, he’ll head right back down to Iowa after the second game.