With rosters set to expand, the Chicago Cubs are likely to use September the way a lot of contending teams do: not as a showcase, but as a pressure valve.
The club has a coming wave of players expected back from injury before October, and that makes the extra roster room valuable in a very practical way. More than anything, it gives the Cubs a chance to keep a fresh arm in the bullpen as the month unfolds.
It’s not the most exciting use of those spots, but that’s often the reality for a team in the hunt. The idea of a top prospect getting a look is appealing.
The actual job of September call-ups is usually much less glamorous.
Shelby Miller looks like one of the clearest possibilities. He’s on a minor-league rehab assignment while coming back from Tommy John surgery he had last October, and his work with Triple-A Iowa has turned heads.
His fastball has been sitting in the upper-90s, and he’s been missing bats at a steady clip. Even so, the Cubs are taking it slow.
He has not yet pitched on back-to-back days, and until that changes, it’s tough to see him handling a meaningful September role. The likeliest path is that he fills one of those expanded roster spots and gives Chicago another bullpen option, with his playoff outlook to be determined later.
Justin Steele is in a similar spot. The Cubs are being cautious with his recovery too, though he is closer to a minor-league rehab assignment.
If he does return this season, the plan is for him to pitch out of the bullpen. But like Miller, he probably won’t have enough time to build up to back-to-back outings, which keeps him from being a true impact piece right away.
That makes him another strong candidate to occupy one of the extra spots at the end of the season.
Justin Dean also feels like a likely return to Wrigley Field. His ability to handle all three outfield positions, along with the speed he brings off the bench, gives the Cubs a useful layer of flexibility.
Then there are the call-ups fans can daydream about.
Owen Ayers fits that category. The Cubs recently added a veteran catcher to Triple-A, which has only added fuel to the speculation around him.
There isn’t an obvious opening for Ayers, since Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya are covering catching duties, but the appeal could be more about exposure than immediate need. Getting him around the big-league club for the stretch run would basically be a preview of a larger role next season.
Jaxon Wiggins is another name worth watching. Since the middle of August, he has worked exclusively as a reliever for the Iowa Cubs, and the move has gone well.
He’s thrown four scoreless outings and struck out seven of the 16 hitters he has faced. That kind of run makes a September bullpen look more realistic, and the expanded roster could make the decision easier for the Cubs.
In Other News...
Cubs May Be Sending A Bigger Message With This Prospect Move
A late-season look at the Cubs roster could be headed in an unexpected direction, with a report from The Bahamas Baseball Association suggesting infield prospect BJ Murray may join the club before Monday nights game against the Brewers. Because Murray is not on the 40-man roster, Chicago would need to make a corresponding move to bring him up for a September stretch run, which adds a little more intrigue to the timing.
The Cubs have not confirmed anything yet, and there is still the possibility that Murrays arrival waits until rosters officially expand. Even so, the idea of bringing him in now rather than later suggests this is about more than just paperwork, and the next roster move should say a lot about how Chicago wants to handle its final weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Bullpen Crunch Just Put More Relievers On The Hot Seat
The Cubs trimmed their bullpen mix by moving on from Hoby Milner, who was released after being placed on outright waivers and designated for assignment. It is the kind of roster move that often gets buried in the shuffle, but with September call-ups looming and the possibility of other pitchers coming back, Chicago has been forced to sort through the back end of the staff a little earlier than usual.
Caleb Thielbar and Trent Thornton have both surfaced as possible candidates to lose their spots as the Cubs keep managing the crunch, and that is where the intrigue really starts. The bullpen picture can change quickly this time of year, especially when performance metrics are part of the conversation, so the next move or two may say plenty about which arms the Cubs trust most when the roster gets tight. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Bregmans Cubs Turnaround Just Created An Award Debate
The Cubs have built a legitimate Silver Slugger case on the strength of their bats, with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki standing out among the outfield candidates while the conversation at third base has taken on a different shape. Alex Bregmans second-half surge has put him back into the mix after a slow start, and his overall offensive profile now looks a lot more like the kind voters tend to reward when they sort through a crowded field.
Bregmans push matters because the third-base race does not have much room for sentiment, and Max Muncy remains the front-runner in that discussion. Still, Bregmans improved production and timely hitting have at least created a debate where there did not seem to be one earlier, giving the Cubs another player whose season could be part of award season conversation even if the final call comes down to how voters weigh the recent stretch against the full body of work. [Read more 🡒]