The Cubs are about to get a timely boost as they head into a stretch that could shape the rest of their season.
Chicago comes back to Wrigley Field on Friday after a rough trip that saw it drop two of three to both the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. That leaves the Cubs seven games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central, though they still sit atop the Wild Card picture. The Philadelphia Phillies are just two games behind them, so there’s no real breathing room anywhere.
Now the schedule tightens even more. The Cubs face the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, then welcome the Brewers for four games next week before heading back to Milwaukee for a three-game series a week later. The path to closing that division gap is still there, but the next two weeks will tell the story.
Chicago made one move Thursday night that all but pointed to what’s coming next. Kevin Alcantara was optioned to Triple-A Iowa, and the corresponding roster move is expected to come closer to Friday’s game. That move is likely Matt Shaw’s return.
Shaw has been out since the end of June with a wrist sprain, and the recovery took longer than the Cubs initially anticipated. He began a rehab assignment with Iowa on August 19 and has collected six hits in 20 plate appearances. He was not in the Iowa lineup on Thursday, another sign he may have been on his way back to Chicago to be activated from the injured list.
There had been some Cubs speculation after the Reds put Eugenio Suarez on outright waivers, with the idea that Suarez could fit as a designated hitter against left-handed pitching. But the Cubs were never going to absorb the remaining $3 million on Suarez’s deal, especially with Shaw able to fill that same role. Shaw also brings more to the table defensively and gives the Cubs positional flexibility that Suarez simply wouldn’t.
With Dansby Swanson on the injured list, Shaw’s return gives Craig Counsell more options in how he builds the lineup. Shaw should see regular starts against lefties, and alongside Pedro Ramirez, the Cubs can keep mixing and matching as they try to navigate this critical stretch.
In Other News...
Cubs Linked To Late Chance On A Familiar NL Central Nemesis
The Cubs suddenly have a late-week waiver decision in front of them after the Reds put Eugenio Surez and TJ Friedl on outright waivers, creating a narrow window for any club willing to take on the rest of the salary. For Chicago, it is the kind of procedural wrinkle that can still matter in August, especially when a familiar NL Central opponent makes a useful player available without the usual trade deadline maneuvering.
Surez is the more obvious name to watch from a Cubs perspective, given the division history and the kind of in-season fit a power-hitting infielder can represent if a team is looking for help. Even so, the expectation around the league is that both players will clear waivers and stay in Cincinnati for the rest of the season, which means the real intrigue may end before it ever gets to Thursday afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Pete Crow-Armstrong Is Suddenly Part Of A Wild Cal Raleigh Debate
Pete Crow-Armstrong found himself in the middle of an odd little baseball subplot after a playful slap on Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, a moment that came when Raleigh was in the midst of a quiet offensive downturn. What followed, though, turned the scene into a conversation piece around the sport, because Raleigh promptly caught fire at the plate and looked nothing like the hitter he had been just a short time earlier.
For Cubs fans, the only real reason to file away the whole thing is the strange way it now links Crow-Armstrong to a much bigger discussion about Raleighs arc after an MVP-caliber season. The contrast has become part of the appeal, with Raleighs recent surge inviting comparisons to where both players might be headed next, and whether a brief, harmless dugout moment can sit next to a much broader debate about regression, rebound and what comes after the hot streak. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Pitching Overhaul Could Push Jed Hoyer Toward An Overseas Answer
The Cubs are heading into an offseason where pitching has to be at the center of everything, and the list of moving parts is already long enough to make the market feel crowded. With several current arms approaching free agency, Chicago is expected to spend much of the winter trying to stabilize a staff that needs both depth and dependable innings, while also deciding which of its own pitchers it can realistically keep in the fold.
Jed Hoyers group is not limiting itself to the familiar names, either. Alongside reported interest in retaining pitchers such as Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, the Cubs have also been scouting Japanese left-hander Kaima Taira, who is eligible to be posted and has drawn attention for his performance in Japan. For a team trying to rebuild its pitching base without losing flexibility, overseas options like Taira could become part of the answer if the domestic market gets too expensive. [Read more 🡒]