Cubs add two familiar names to bullpen
MILWAUKEE — The Cubs made a couple of bullpen additions for Friday's game in Milwaukee.
Right-hander Ethan Roberts returned after a two-year absence due to Tommy John surgery. Coincidentally, the last of his 9 appearances in 2022 for the Cubs was in Milwaukee.
The Cubs also called up former Mets reliever Jorge Lopez. Keegan Thompson was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right rib fracture and the Cubs designated right-hander Vinny Nittoli for assignment.
The Cubs just signed former A's pitcher Nittoli on Thursday, but he did not get into the game in San Francisco. Jed Hoyer said Nittoli would be welcome to join the Iowa Cubs if he clears waivers.
Roberts, 26, is certainly a feel-good story after surgery and two-year layoff. He was a fourth-round pick of the Cubs out of Tennessee Tech and said he felt some loyalty to the Cubs after they helped with his rehab, so he never considered quitting baseball. Now the goal is to be a better version of his old self.
“The slider is one that I hadn't fully grasped when I was here last and that's one thing I really worked on and one I really like now,” he said. “It's one I can throw to both (right- and left-handed) hitters wherever I want now. When I was here before, I couldn't do that. So I'm excited about that.”
StatCast doesn't list Roberts throwing a fastball at Triple-A Iowa, which is very unusual. But Roberts explained his natural four-seam has cutter qualities, so that's what it's called on StatCast.
Lopez relishes next chance:
Jorge Lopez had a moment of notoriety when he pitched for the Mets and was ejected from a game against the Dodgers on May 29. He threw his glove into the stands on his way off the field, then had an often-replayed postgame interview, with some confusion about what he actually said. The Puerto Rico native was released the next day.
With so many injuries to relievers, the Cubs picked him up a short time later, and the right-hander took the mound for his Cubs debut Friday in Milwaukee, throwing a scoreless seventh inning. Lopez was originally drafted by the Brewers, so Cubs manager Craig Counsell knows him well.
“Yeah, it's really tough. I really missed baseball for 14 days (after being released by the Mets),” Lopez said before Friday's game. “That's something I'm never going to do again in my life. Ask me why I did it? It's emotions.
“I've been working on my mental health for a long time and that's my priority, to not show that anymore, and give the best energy and best body language I can to the game.”
Lopez, 31, has spent nine years in the majors, the Cubs are his seventh team, and he posted a 3.76 ERA for the Mets this season.
Around the horn:
The first time the Cubs played in Milwaukee back in May, reporters and cameras filled the visiting dugout for Craig Counsell's pregame availability. Before Friday's game only the regulars from Chicago showed up to talk to the former Brewers boss. “I must have bored them to death,” he joked. …
The Cubs' 36 stolen bases in June are the most they've had in a month since August 1990.
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