ToronStro is Just Fine, Thompson Throwing, Roster Expansion Coming, Little, and Other Cubs Bullets

Aug 31, 2022

One of the kiddos was up suuuuper early this morning, which means I woke up suuuuper early this morning. I have the tireds.

A nice return to Toronto for Marcus Stroman last night, even as it did not result in a win for the Cubs. “From the second I walked out to warm up, they were just showing me so much love,” Stroman said, per Cubs.com. “I could feel that energy …. Everything happened so quick when I was traded (to the Mets), so I’ve never really had the chance to kind of come back ever since then and really kind of take it in. So I’m thankful, I feel like I’m part Canadian in my blood at this point.”

Stro many memories 👏 @STR0 pic.twitter.com/B8hR8GwaLe
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 29, 2022

The scoreless outing last night once again got Stroman’s season ERA under four (3.98), and just a touch better than league average (2% better, by ERA-). It hasn’t been exactly the year anyone was hoping for, but it feels increasingly stable – like, this is the guy you can count on for 2023, when his presence in the Cubs’ rotation is going to matter even more.

Oh, also, fwiw: since those two early-season April blowups against the Rockies in Colorado and against the Rays at Wrigley, Stroman’s ERA is just 3.26. Not saying those games don’t count, but he’s basically been Marcus Stroman since then. Again, it feels stable and predictable going into 2023.

The Cubs still haven’t officially named a starter for tonight’s game, which would’ve been a Justin Steele day. They could go with a glorified bullpen game (Luke Farrell “starting” maybe?), or they could bring someone up.

It will still be a little while before Keegan Thompson (lower back) returns to the Cubs, but he’s throwing and the Cubs have early thoughts on his role upon returning:

Keegan Thompson is throwing bullpen right now at Rogers Centre.

Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said Thompson likely throw live BP in 7-10 days.

TBD on Thompson’s role when off IL but likely will stay on starter routine. Could use him in piggyback setup or script role out of ‘pen.— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) August 30, 2022

I think that makes a lot of sense to keep him on a starter schedule, but not necessarily expect him to make full “starts.” If he was already wearing down in the longest season of his career so far, there’s no reason to push him to go 6+ innings whenever he comes back. With rosters expanding to 28 starting tomorrow, the Cubs will get to carry an extra pitcher, which will help with possible piggybacking/innings limit plans for guys like Thompson (there will also be pitchers shuffling up and down from Iowa still, I expect).

Speaking of roster expansion, remember that it’s down from what it used to be (the full 40-man), and now it’s basically just one extra hitter and one extra pitcher. On the positional side, it might be something simple like the return of David Bote or Frank Schwindel or Narciso Crook. For the pitcher, the Cubs might bring up someone like Anderson Espinoza or Kervin Castro again, but they will also have Wade Miley and Adbert Alzolay returning at some point. They could also decide to keep one of Brendon Little or Jeremiah Estrada up.

Speaking of those two, we’ll have a closer look at Estrada’s debut soon, because it was FIRRRRRRE. As for Little, it was about as much of a bummer as it can be: he hit a batter, then couldn’t make a play on a dribbler, then gave up a homer, then he got a groundout and a fly out, but then walked Jackie Bradley Jr. and got pulled. It was a mess, unfortunately, and while you can’t take too much away from any one outing, the Cubs are going to have such a 40-man crunch that any misstep for a borderline case is going to be a problem. We’ll see if Little gets into tonight’s game for a bounce-back, but even if he does, he’s likely to head back to Iowa tomorrow.

Christopher Morel’s big night snapped an 0-for-the-week skid.

I think it was pretty clear when the Minor League Advocates group all resigned in order to take jobs at the MLBPA that there was confidence enough minor league players were on board for the efforts to start a union. But in case there was any question, sure seems like the first step is going well:

Minor League players sending in union authorization cards since MLBPA announced organization effort yesterday.

MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark: "To say we are more than encouraged by the return of cards in the last 24 hours would be an understatement.”

SBJ: https://t.co/8xEmj48Hta— Liz Mullen (@SBJLizMullen) August 30, 2022

Cubs MLBPA rep Ian Happ is supportive of the effort, and wants to see minor leaguers have a voice at the table:

In his role as the Cubs players union representative, Ian Happ was aware that unionizing the minor leagues has been on the MLBPA’s radar for a little while.

"The biggest part is just having them be able to have a voice."@M_Montemurro's story.https://t.co/orTD2StTe6— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) August 30, 2022

Last year, pre-enforcement, there was a credible excuse that the lines between mere “I just need grip” and “I am trying to jack up my spin rate” were so blurry that it’s hard to say what is “cheating” and what isn’t. The lines aren’t blurry this year, so if you’re doing it, you’re cheating. Crystal clear:

Yes, spin is back up after the sticky stuff breakdown, and @No_Little_Plans shows it wonderfully here. https://t.co/9Plz7SAx0X I wouldn't call it "all the way back" so I assume that new substance is a) clear and b) easily wiped off the hand. I'd bet that caps the RPM benefit.— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) August 30, 2022

Today in ‘Oneil Cruz is Not Human,’ this is just an impossible turn:

The double play that ended it. pic.twitter.com/ika4saCwea
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 31, 2022

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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