NEWSLETTER
A FLURRY of moves for the Chicago Cubs before tonight’s game.
The sum of moves:
OK. So, let’s go through that …
First, you have poor Jorge Lopez with an injured groin for the third time in the last few weeks – I’m sure it’s the same injury recurring/not fully healing – and now his season is over. He’ll be a free agent, and his market will be a pretty interesting one given how good he looked (when healthy) with the Cubs, but how disastrous his time with the Mets was. I think he’ll get a big league deal, but it might wind up just a one-year contract.
Then, you have Trey Wingenter getting bumped back out – such is the lot for an up-down recent waiver claim. The Cubs will have to make a 40-man decision on him after the season.
Then, you have Caleb Kilian coming up, at long last, after his recovery from a serious shoulder muscle injury in the spring, and then 44.2 strong innings at Triple-A Iowa. I don’t think he’s pitching for his 40-man spot at this point – the Cubs are going to keep him another year, as he’ll still have minor league options next season – but I do think he’s gotta keep building his case to be in the up-down mix come spring (or winning a job outright if he looks great and the roster stars align). He may piggyback tonight off of Nate Pearson, and although he’s been starting quite well at Iowa, I still wonder if his ultimate spot with the Cubs is in the bullpen.
I’m gonna turn to the waiver claim now, as Enoli Paredes gets snagged from the Brewers and goes on the 40-man roster. A 28-year-old shorter righty, Paredes had a 1.72 ERA over 20.2 big league innings with the Brewers this season, though the peripherals were considerably less impressive. That said, he was outrageously good at Triple-A this year, and was previously an up-down guy for the Astros with good contact-management skills and a mid-90s fastball. The Cubs presumably wanted to get him in the door now with an eye toward at least having a chance to make a decision on him at a later date. He does not have any minor league option years remaining, by the way. Might have to have more on him soon.
Lastly, Wingenter before him, if you don’t remember Gavin Hollowell being in the Cubs’ organization, no worries. He was claimed a month ago off of waivers from the Diamondbacks, but that happened in coordination with David Bote getting DFA’d – and that’s probably the part you remember. With the I-Cubs, Hollowell has thrown 9.1 dominant innings of relief (1.93 ERA, 41.7%K, 11.1% BB), and I expect the Cubs are wanting as much info as possible before the offseason when they have to decide whether to keep him on the 40-man roster.
The skinny on Hollowell from my earlier write-up:
Hollowell, 26, was actually a waiver claim by the Diamondbacks back in June from the Rockies, where Hollowell had been an up-down guy in 2022 and 2023. With the Diamondbacks at Triple-A, Hollowell posted a huge strikeout rate, but also a huge walk rate – that was also his thing with the Rockies. He’s 93-94 mph with the fastball (out of a three-quarter arm slot), and he’s got a slider that gets a crapload more horizontal movement than the average slider. Good spin, good extension. You can see why teams have had interest at the Triple-A/MLB border.
A pure reclamation play, Hollowell has an option year remaining even after this season, so if the Cubs decide he’s worth a 40-man roster spot all offseason, they’d still have some flexibility with him next year.
The Cubs do love them some unique arm slots, and you can imagine Hollowell becoming an effective specialist if the control comes around:
