The Cubs are already making another turn through their pitching staff, and this one comes with a fresh arm for the bullpen and a new look to the rotation heading into a crucial stretch.
Ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago designated Andrew Wantz for assignment and brought Jake Woodford up from Triple-A Iowa.
Wantz had only just been the replacement for Jameson Taillon on the roster earlier this week, so the move wasn’t exactly a surprise. He also worked the final two innings of the Cubs’ win over the Cardinals on Wednesday, which makes Woodford’s arrival useful right away for Craig Counsell.
The Cubs’ schedule is part of the reason this keeps happening. They won’t have another off day until August 10, and with pitchers getting close to returning from injury plus the trade deadline approaching, the roster is set to keep shifting over the next several days.
Woodford, like Wantz before him, doesn’t appear to be ticketed for a long stay. The Cubs likely see him as a possible piggy-back option for Javier Assad on Thursday.
Counsell also confirmed a change to the rotation for the upcoming weekend series against the New York Yankees at Wrigley Field. Assad, who was already expected to fill in for Taillon, had originally been lined up for the series opener against the Yankees on Friday. Instead, he’ll start the series finale against the Cardinals on Thursday.
That pushes Shota Imanaga to Friday, David Peterson to Saturday, and Colin Rea to Sunday.
The timing matters because it could line up the debut of a starter the Cubs acquire at the deadline during the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And in that same window, it’s not out of the question that Tarik Skubal could be making his Dodgers debut as well. The source of that speculation is Los Angeles’ renewed interest, especially with the Tigers having lost four of their last five and Shohei Ohtani dealing with injuries.
Chicago, meanwhile, is said to be exploring a wide range of pitching options. The Cubs are believed to be discussing both rental arms and controllable starters. One path could involve a rental such as Tyler Mahle, followed by a move for a controllable pitcher like Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels or Emmerson Hancock of the Seattle Mariners.
At the very least, the Cubs know what they need: another starting pitcher. If they want to make any real noise in October, adding one at the deadline is the baseline.
In Other News...
Cubs Roster Squeeze Is About To Claim Some Familiar Names
The Cubs have already started to feel the tug of a roster crunch, and it is only going to get tighter as more arms work their way back. Chicago said farewell to Jameson Taillon earlier this week, a reminder that the churn is already underway, and the next wave could be even more disruptive as Hunter Harvey, Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera and Daniel Palencia move closer to returning over the next two months.
With the trade deadline also looming, the front office may not be done adding pitching help, which means there will be fewer places to go around. That puts a handful of current Cubs in a vulnerable spot, with Aaron Civale, Tyler Ferguson, Trent Thornton, Andrew Wantz, Pedro Ramirez and James Triantos among the names most exposed if the club has to clear room for the reinforcements coming down the line. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Catching Depth Just Took Another Hit Fans Will Notice
The Cubs catching depth took another small but noticeable hit with Christian Bethancourt moving on to a minor league deal with the Yankees, where he will head to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Bethancourt had been in the Cubs system this season and brought the kind of veteran major league background that can matter when a club is trying to keep Triple-A depth stable and ready.
For Chicago, the departure is another reminder that organizational catching depth can change quickly, especially when a player with big league experience becomes available elsewhere. Bethancourt had been part of the mix at Iowa, and his exit leaves the Cubs with one less experienced option in the upper minors while the Yankees keep searching for a right-handed-hitting catcher and continue sorting through trade possibilities. [Read more 🡒]
Jed Hoyer May Have Just Shown His True Cubs Deadline Plan
Tarik Skubal is still the loudest name on the pitching market, and the Tigers are expected to move him before the deadline with a long list of contenders circling. The Cubs have been floated as a possible fit, but the broader picture around Chicago has pointed in a different direction, one that values a starter who can stick around beyond this season rather than a short-term swing at a premium arm.
That preference says plenty about how Jed Hoyer may be approaching July. Chicago is willing to part with prospects for the right pitcher, but the club seems far more likely to chase a controllable arm than a rental with free agency looming, which is why names like Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, Emmerson Hancock and Sandy Alcantara keep surfacing as more realistic paths if the Cubs decide to make their move. [Read more 🡒]