No easy calls for the Cubs when the roster expands Friday
By the time the Cubs play a doubleheader Friday in Cincinnati, they'll have added two players since MLB rosters expand on Sept. 1.
One will be a pitcher, possibly a starter. The Cubs listed Friday's probable pitchers as Jordan Wicks for the day game and TBD for the night game, with Javier Assad slated for Saturday.
There have been reports of various veteran pitchers being placed on waivers this week, so an additional player doesn't necessarily have to come from Triple A Iowa. The Cubs could also just return Jose Cuas from the bereavement list at some point and leave everything else the same.
When it comes to adding a position player, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is the team's highest-rated prospect, but there are a couple of reasons why he's not a lock to be added to the roster.
One is the Cubs don't plan to bench Cody Bellinger or Mike Tauchman this late in the season, so Crow-Armstrong wouldn't play much if he is promoted. Iowa's season continues until Sept. 24, so it might make more sense to let him keep starting every day in Triple A.
PCA also won't be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter, so the Cubs could keep an extra spot on the 40-man roster by leaving him off it for now. That would turn into a moot point if they plan on having him start the season in the big leagues next year. As an incentive to bring up rookies at the start of the year, the new CBA grants extra draft picks if a team's player is up for the full season and wins rookie of the year.
The position players in Iowa who are already on the 40-man roster are Matt Mervis, Alexander Canario and Jared Young. Dropping Young from the 40-man is a conceivable move. And Cubs manager David Ross expects the final roster spots to stay fluid, especially since Triple A season lasts longer than it used to.
"We can still use the roster, moving guys up and down as needed," Ross said. "Having somebody staying healthy, getting fresh at-bats and being ready to come up in case there's still injuries in September is really important."
By rule, MLB teams get to add an extra player to the roster for doubleheaders. But since it's Sept. 1, the Cubs will not get an extra player Friday, just the two expanded roster spots.
Call-ups past:
In the old days, the entire 40-man roster could be promoted to the majors on Sept. 1. Cubs manager David Ross likes the way it is now, with just two players added, and explained why.
"For me, it used to be an exciting time to get six rookies up as a player and there was energy," Ross said. "I always felt like as a player the dog days of August came with some excitement of a playoff race and young guys experiencing that.
"Within that, there used to be a lot of annoyance of like, 'We've got an extra BP group and I've got to catch an extra bullpen of some rookie up here.' What are we doing? We're in a playoff race and I'm out here on my feet an extra 15 minutes at the back end of an eight-month process. That's probably too much truth, but that's real. We don't have that anymore."
Around the horn:
The Cubs promoted first-round pick Matt Shaw to Double A Tennessee this week. He hit .393 with 4 home runs in 20 games at Single A South Bend. ... Injured pitcher Marcus Stroman threw some soft toss at Wrigley Field before Wednesday's game. ... David Ross said his family and home were holding up well as Hurricane Idalia struck his hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, on Wednesday.
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