The Chicago Cubs made one last roster shuffle before the regular season finale, recalling Braxton Garrett and optioning Gavin Hollowell to the Arizona Complex League.
Hollowell had been reinstated from the IL before this weekend’s series against the Boston Red Sox, but Garrett is now the arm expected to handle multiple innings on Sunday. With the Cubs’ playoff seeding no longer affected by the result, Garrett’s role should be aimed at covering innings and keeping other pitchers fresh for what comes next against the San Diego Padres later this week.
Garrett has been traveling with the club as part of the taxi squad, and this move fits the situation the Cubs are in now: the final game has no bearing on their NL Wild Card positioning, so there’s little reason to stretch anyone who may be needed soon.
The bigger takeaway from the roster decision is what it says about Justin Steele. The move appears to close the door on any realistic chance that Steele would return to the Cubs before the start of the 2027 season.
There had been some hope that Steele might still factor into the pitching picture against the Red Sox, but that possibility seemed to fade after the teams played a doubleheader on Friday. Even though the Cubs were encouraged by Steele’s work in his latest minor-league rehab outings, their public messaging suggested he was never going to be a major part of the playoff run.
Jed Hoyer, earlier this week, if you read between the lines, all but signaled that the Cubs were proceeding as if Steele would not be on the playoff roster.
A key issue was roster math. Steele was not on the Cubs’ 40-man roster entering the weekend. That made Saturday’s decision to designate Antoine Kelly for assignment after claiming Julian Aguiar off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds stand out as a strong hint that the club’s thinking had shifted toward 2027.
At this point, the Cubs have little to gain from forcing Steele into a meaningless regular-season appearance on Sunday. The only real upside would be the symbolic one of seeing him back on the mound in a Cubs game. Beyond that, the safer play is obvious: protect his offseason, get him healthy, and have him ready for the beginning of 2027.
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For the Cubs, the question is how quickly they can sort out King's sinker and change-up mix and force him into the zone. The matchup puts a premium on discipline and quality at-bats from Chicago's key hitters, because if King gets ahead early and starts leaning on those pitches the way he likes, Game 1 could turn into a long evening for the Cubs' offense. [Read more 🡒]