NEWSLETTER
Whew, a FLURRY of roster moves for the Cubs today. We already talked about Hayden Wesneski’s arrival and Justin Steele going on the IL, but now there are many more before tonight’s game.
Willson Contreras is finally going on the 10-day IL with his ankle sprain, retroactive to September 3 (Bastian). So he’ll be out at least another week.
Meanwhile, outfielder Michael Hermosillo (remember him?!) is finally coming back, after missing most of the season with what must have been a really serious quad strain. It’s hard to imagine he can do enough in the final month to secure his 40-man spot for the entire offseason, but the guy is extremely talented, and I’ll be glad to see him back.
To open up a 40-man spot for Hermosillo, who is coming off the 60-day IL, the Cubs have designated relief prospect Nicholas Padilla for assignment.
It’s a surprise. Padilla got a very brief look-see earlier after dominating in the minors, but it seems clear the Cubs felt he wasn’t going to stay on the 40-man roster all offseason. Now they can hope he’ll clear waivers, and then be willing to sign a new minor league deal after the season (and then not get selected in the Rule 5 Draft).
Meanwhile, tonight’s starter, Wade Miley, is officially back with the big league team after his fits-and-starts rehab process for the balky shoulder. The Cubs activated him off of the 60-day IL before tonight’s game. In a corresponding move, the Cubs designated pitcher Luke Farrell for assignment.
Hopefully this time Miley can stay up, and contribute meaningfully in the final month of the season. As I said this weekend:
There is no longer any trade-related or playoff-related reason to be eager for Miley to return, but that isn’t to say there is no reason for him to come back. For one, Miley himself will want a chance to show he can still pitch before the offseason arrives. For another, the Cubs will be happy to give him that chance – when you can do right by a player and it doesn’t conflict with winning, it’s a good idea to do it. Be a player-first organization. And for still another thing, the Cubs have innings to eat right now that they don’t necessarily want to have to foist upon fringy or unready pitchers.
Plus, as we’ve discussed, winning games is not a bad thing for the Cubs right now, and perhaps Miley – who is beloved in the clubhouse – can help keep up some positive energy heading into an important offseason. Miley has a 2.84 ERA on the season, albeit over just four starts and 19.0 innings.
Though not confirmed, it’s possible Hayden Wesneski, who is coming up tonight for the first time, could be used as a piggyback for Miley. Wesneski piggybacked in his last minor league outing, and we know Miley is probably going to have a short start no matter what.
As for Farrell, the veteran journeyman helped the Cubs out when they were short arms thanks to injuries and the 20-days-in-19-days thing, and now he’ll be waived or released. I expect he would clear waivers, and at that point he might stick around in the organization for the rest of the year just in case. He was not expected to retain a 40-man spot through the offseason.
