NEWSLETTER
We more or less knew this was coming for a few days (at least the first half of this two-part roster move). But it became especially clear this morning, when Hayden Wesneski was scratched as the scheduled starter for the Iowa Cubs on the same day Drew Smyly was supposed to pitch.
The Cubs have been throttling Smyly’s workload lately, using Michael Fulmer as an opener during his last scheduled start. This time, it’ll be Wesneski. Though Wesneski should be expected to go a little bit longer than Fulmer, even if not fully stretched out for a full-start.
This morning, Brett guessed left-hander Anthony Kay might be the reliever to go in place of Wesneski, but that was incorrect. The Cubs are going righty-for-righty with Michael Rucker heading back to Iowa. Rucker pitched yesterday (14 pitches) and has otherwise hit a bit of a rough-patch since the end of June (8ER in his last 9 IP with six walks and six strikeouts and just a 34.6% groundball rate). He was a good bit better than that for most of the year, so maybe this is all a well-timed breather, in either case.
