NEWSLETTER
As expected, Jordan Wicks is hitting the injured list with the always-dreaded left forearm strain. But he’s not the only Cubs lefty on his way out the door this Sunday afternoon. Sahadev Sharma has the scoop on the three other transactions before the series finale in Boston.
We learned that Wicks was scratched from this evening’s finale last night after the blow out, and I discussed our significant concern and potential impact twice already.
In addition to Wicks, Luke Little is headed back to Triple-A Iowa. Not only did Little throw 34 pitches yesterday, but he’s been struggling with his command and effectiveness, well … all season. You can tell the Cubs really want to make it work with Little (and maybe it will long term, the talent is obviously there). But if they need fresh arms, he’s an easy pick to option down to Iowa at his current level of production.
Daniel Palencia should be a familiar arm for you. Like Little, he has a ton of potential and a live arm, but he has also struggled with his command and overall production.
They’re just two really talented, but flawed (and optionable) arms. They’ll probably be shuttled up and down all season long.
Richard Lovelady (80-grade name) is the new name here. The Cubs signed the 28-year-old lefty reliever (and reclamation project) over the offseason. And so far, he’s been pitching out of the Triple-A bullpen with pretty outrageous statistics.
On the one hand, Lovelady has struck out a brilliant 20 batters (33.3%) while walking only one (3.3 BB%) over ten appearances. That is obviously really impressive. But it’s only half the story. Because Lovelady has also allowed 8 runs to score over those 12.1 IP, while opposing batters are hitting .373 off the lefty.
That’s how you end up with a 0.76 FIP and a 5.84 ERA.
Lovelady wasn’t on the 40-man roster, but with a couple guys on the 60-day IL (Julian Merryweather, Caleb Killian) and the Garrett Cooper trade completed, the Cubs had an extra spot to add him.
Loveladly, you’ll note, is not a starter. And neither is Palencia. So that means the Cubs rotation right now looks like this: Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski, and Ben Brown. Justin Steele should be back soon.
Meanwhile, the bullpen looks like this (alphabetical): Yency Almonte, Adbert Alzolay, Colten Brewer, Mark Leiter Jr., Richard Lovelady, Hector Neris, Daniel Palencia, Keegan Thompson.
