NEWSLETTER
Today the Chicago Cubs sent reliever Matt Swarmer back to Triple-A Iowa, and activated lefty Daniel Norris from the Injured List.
Norris, an offseason reclamation-type signing, has been recovering from a finger issue, and threw a couple dominant innings at Iowa while rehabbing. He’s probably fully healthy. The question is whether he can be more effective than he’s shown so far this year – the strikeouts have been aplenty, but so have the walks and the homers. If he rights the ship enough over the next couple weeks, it’s POSSIBLE he could net a fringe prospect at the Trade Deadline. Might as well try.
Swarmer, who initially made fill-in starts for the Cubs before transitioning into a multi-inning relief role, could become a multi-inning guy at Iowa now. Again, that’s what I’d really like to see, in the hopes that a two-pitch mix will allow the slider to play up even more, especially in short bursts. The command does need to improve.
