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Cubs Place Michael Fulmer On 15-Day Injured List

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The Cubs placed right-hander Michael Fulmer on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain, according to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times (X link).  Righty Daniel Palencia was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

This is the second time in less than a month that a forearm strain has sent Fulmer to the IL, as he only returned earlier this week from a previous stint that sidelined him from August 25 to September 11.  Fulmer tossed two-thirds of an inning last Monday in what amounted to his only appearance in his return from the injured list.

Given the timing and nature of the injury, it would certainly seem like Fulmer’s 2023 season could be over.  Manager David Ross stated that Fulmer had been trying to pitch through some discomfort prior to his first IL trip, and if that forearm discomfort has continued, Fulmer will surely be held out beyond the 15-day minimum for precautionary reasons if nothing else.  With the Cubs in the wild card race, Fulmer might possibly be an option for a postseason roster if Chicago does make it into the playoffs, but that isn’t likely to be known until Fulmer undergoes another set of tests.

Fulmer has previously undergone both a Tommy John surgery and an ulnar nerve transposition surgery in his career, so he is unfortunately no stranger to significant arm problems.  This could give the Cubs and Fulmer even more reason for caution, and these late-season IL stints might certainly hamper Fulmer’s market as a free agent this winter.

The righty has a 4.42 ERA over 57 innings for Chicago this season, with a mediocre 11.8% walk rate standing out as Fulmer’s biggest problem.  This lack of control has undermined some other good numbers for Fulmer, as he has an above-average 27.4% strikeout rate and been among the game’s best at limiting hard contact.

Losing Fulmer is another blow to a Cubs bullpen that already lost closer Adbert Alzolay to a forearm strain earlier this week.  In need of relief help for the playoff push, the Cubs will be using Marcus Stroman out of the bullpen for at least a little while until Stroman fully ramps up after a lengthy stint on the injured list.  While Chicago’s relief corps has been solid overall this season, they’ll face a challenge with this makeshift approach over the regular season’s final weeks.

Marcus Stroman To Pitch Out Of Bullpen

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7:48pm: Stroman will indeed pitch out of the bullpen for the time being, writes Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. He could be an option to return to the rotation at some point down the stretch, but he’ll build up with multi-inning relief work. The Cubs will stick with a starting five of Steele, Hendricks, Wicks, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad for the time being.

6:49pm: The Cubs announced they’ve reinstated Marcus Stroman from the 15-day injured list. Daniel Palencia was optioned to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move.

Stroman is back for the first time since the end of July. He initially landed on the IL with inflammation in his right hip. That wasn’t a particularly serious issue, but he was subsequently diagnosed with a rib cartilage fracture that necessitated a longer shutdown. At one point, it seemed unclear if he’d make it back to the club at all this season.

Fortunately for Chicago, he’ll return for the last couple weeks. The Cubs have Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jordan Wicks lined up to start this weekend’s three-game set in Arizona. The Cubs don’t have a set starter for their next series against the Pirates, which begins Tuesday. It’s possible they hold Stroman until that point, but the fact that they activated him tonight might suggest he’ll be available out of the bullpen this weekend.

Stroman has been throwing for a couple weeks but didn’t go on a minor league rehab stint. The Cubs presumably won’t want him immediately logging 75-100 pitches in his first game action in six weeks. A few multi-inning relief stints could be a way of building his arm strength while still getting him into potentially pivotal games as the club tries to lock down a playoff berth.

For the first couple months of the season, the right-hander was in the NL Cy Young conversation. After tossing seven scoreless innings against the Pirates on June 20, he carried a 2.28 ERA with a massive 59.9% grounder percentage over 16 starts. He received a deserved All-Star nod for the second time in his career on the back of that strong first half. However, Stroman had a couple clunkers headed into the break and was rocked in three of his first four outings of the second half. Over his seven starts preceding the IL stint, he allowed an even 9.00 ERA in 30 innings, with his ground-ball rate dipping to 52.9%.

Showing well over the final couple weeks and potentially into October would go a long way towards bolstering his stock in advance of a possible second career free agent trip. Stroman has a $21MM player option for the upcoming season. It seemed a lock he’d decline that in search of a longer-term pact while he was dominating over the first couple months. While that could still be the case, the option would have been more borderline if Stroman had lost the bulk of the second half to injury. He’ll look to demonstrate he has put the rib issue behind him.

Mets Claim Anthony Kay From Cubs

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The Mets have claimed left-hander Anthony Kay off waivers from the Cubs, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The latter club had designated the lefty for assignment earlier this week. The Mets already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move. The Mets have sent Kay to Triple-A for now, per Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News.

Kay, now 28, returns to his original organization. The Mets selected him with the 31st overall pick in 2016 but traded him to the Blue Jays alongside Simeon Woods Richardson in the 2019 Marcus Stroman deal. The lefty got brief looks at the big league level while with the Jays but wasn’t able to establish himself and was placed on waivers, getting claimed by the Cubs in the winter.

Between the Jays and the Cubs, Kay has thrown 82 innings scattered over the past five major league seasons. He has an earned run average of 5.60 in that time, along with a 22.3% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 42.2% ground ball rate. He’s generally fared better in the minors, which continues to be the case this year. He has a 4.10 ERA in 37 1/3 Triple-A innings, striking out 31.1% of hitters and keeping the ball on the ground at a 52.4% rate. Those numbers are both strong, though his 13.7% walk rate is still concerning.

Kay will be out of options next year, but the Mets can keep him as a depth arm for now. If he manages to hang onto his roster spot through the winter, he can still be retained for five more seasons after this one.

Cubs Place Jeimer Candelario On Injured List

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  • The Cubs plan to place Jeimer Candelario on the 10-day injured list with a back issue, tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Rookie outfielder Alexander Canario will be recalled to take the roster spot. Candelario suffered the injury on Sunday, so the placement will likely be backdated by one day. He’ll first be eligible to return a week from Thursday. Acquired from the Nationals at the deadline, Candelario is hitting .237/.324/.449 in 36 games during his second stint as a Cub. He’d hit well in August before falling into a slump over the past couple weeks.

Cubs Designate Anthony Kay For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated left-hander Anthony Kay for assignment, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. His 40-man roster spot will go to prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, whose promotion was reported earlier today. Outfielder Alexander Canario was optioned to open an active roster spot.

Kay, 28, has made 13 appearances for the Cubs this season but with an earned run average of 6.35 in that sample. His eight strikeouts were a match for his eight walks, leading to subpar 14.8% rates in both categories. He’s spent more time in Triple-A this year and has had better results there. In 37 1/3 innings, he has a 4.10 ERA, 31.1% strikeout rate and 52.4% ground ball rate, though his 13.7% walk rate is still quite high.

Since the trade deadline has long passed, the Cubs will have to put Kay on waivers in the coming days. They already passed him through unclaimed back in January, before adding him back to the roster in June. That was his first outright, meaning he didn’t have the right to elect free agency at that time. But if he were to pass through unclaimed a second time, he would then have the right to reject another such assignment.

Kay was once a prospect of note, having gone from the Mets to the Blue Jays alongside Simeon Woods Richardson in the 2019 Marcus Stroman trade. He hasn’t been able to put it together yet, with a career ERA of 5.60 in 82 innings. If any club were intrigued by his past prospect stock or his strikeout stuff in the minors this year, the southpaw comes with five years of control, but he will be out of options next year.

Cubs Place Adbert Alzolay On IL With Forearm Strain

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The Cubs have placed right-hander Adbert Alzolay on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain, reports Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Fellow righty Michael Fulmer has been reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move.

It’s unclear at this point how long Alzolay is expected to be out, but it’s a worrisome development for the Cubs regardless. Alzolay is having a tremendous breakout season and has taken over the closer role for the Cubs. Through 63 innings this year, he has an earned run average of 2.71, racking up 22 saves in the process. He has struck out 26.4% of batters faced while walking just 4.8% of them and he has also kept the ball on the ground at a decent 42.4% clip.

More news on the severity of the injury will surely be forthcoming, but the timing is certainly unfortunate as there are now just three weeks left on the schedule. The Cubs are in the midst of a tight playoff race, three games back of the Brewers in the Central division and currently holding the second Wild Card spot in the National League, but with four clubs within 3.5 games of them.

They will now have to go through at least the next couple of weeks of that playoff push without their closer. That will potentially push pitchers like Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr. and José Cuas into the mix for the gig, with everyone moving up one notch on the bullpen chart.

Cubs To Promote Pete Crow-Armstrong

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The Cubs are calling up top outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’s expected to be activated prior to tomorrow’s game. The Cubs will need to make a 40-man roster move in order to formally select Crow-Armstrong’s contract.

Selected by the Mets with the No. 19 overall pick back in 2020, the now-21-year-old Crow-Armstrong was the headline prospect in the 2021 trade sending Javier Baez and Trevor Williams from Chicago to New York. Crow-Armstrong was already a prospect of note at the time, but his stock has skyrocketed since that swap; he currently ranks 12th on the leaguewide top-100 prospect lists at both Baseball America and MLB.com, while The Athletic’s Keith Law tabbed him 18th and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen pegs him 23rd.

While he’s long drawn praise as a 70- or even 80-grade defender in center field (on the 20-80 scale), Crow-Armstrong has grown into more power since being traded to the Cubs and now has the look of a potential five-tool center fielder. He’s split the current season between Double-A and Triple-A, turning in a combined .283/.365/.511 batting line with 20 home runs, 26 doubles, seven triples and 37 steals (in 47 tries).

Crow-Armstrong has whiffed a bit more often than the Cubs would prefer to see, punching out at a 25.8% rate against a higher-than-average (but far from elite) 9.2% walk rate. He’s also a 21-year-old facing much older and more experienced competition, so there’s likely some hope that he can continue to polish those bat-to-ball skills and refine his pitch selection as he ages.

The big picture hope for Crow-Armstrong is that he can become the Cubs’ everyday center fielder, holding down that position for the six-plus seasons which they’ll control him via arbitration. In the short-term, however, “PCA” will give the team an alternative to the struggling Mike Tauchman, who’s batting just .163/.295/.188 in 95 plate appearances over the past month. Cody Bellinger, of course, can handle center field as well, but he’s spent a fair bit of time at first base and designated hitter since returning from a knee injury earlier this summer. Crow-Armstrong can potentially allow him to continue doing so while still upgrading the outfield defense and perhaps providing some more offense than they’re currently receiving from Tauchman.

Even if he doesn’t play everyday, Crow-Armstrong adds a dynamic defender and plus threat on the basepaths who can be used late in games. That includes both in the regular season and potentially into October. While Crow-Armstrong wasn’t on the 40-man roster when the playoff eligibility deadline passed, he was still in the organization at that point, meaning the Cubs can petition the league to add him to the playoff roster in place of an injured player. Teams do this every year, and there’s no reason to think he won’t be able to suit up during postseason play.

In terms of service time considerations, Crow-Armstrong will remain under club control for six full seasons (plus the handful of days he’ll accrue late in the current year). Barring any future optional assignments that impact the trajectory, he’ll be controllable through the 2029 season and eligible for arbitration following the 2026 campaign.

Also of note for the Cubs is that the looming promotion to the big leagues won’t impact Crow-Armstrong’s rookie status for the 2024 season. He’ll surely be on every major top-100 prospect ranking heading into the 2024 season, meaning he’ll remain eligible for the new collective bargaining agreement’s “prospect promotion incentives,” which could net the Cubs bonus draft picks based on how he fares in future award voting.

Jeimer Candelario Exits With Back Tightness

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  • Cubs infielder Jeimer Candelario exited today’s game against the Diamondbacks due to back tightness, as manager David Ross told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) this evening, and will be re-evaluated tomorrow. Candelario has had a big rebound season since being non-tendered by the Tigers last winter, as the switch-hitter has slashed .254/.339/.475 in 553 trips to the plate split between the Nationals and Cubs this season. He’s cooled off a bit recently, slashing just .161/.257/.356 in his last 101 trips to the plate, but that month long cold stretch doesn’t change the fact that Candelario is a key piece of Chicago’s lineup alongside the likes of Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki as they look to return to the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2018. Should Candelario miss time with the injury, the club figures to rely on Nick Madrigal and Patrick Wisdom at third base.

Latest On Marcus Stroman

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  • Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman hasn’t pitched for the big league team since the end of July due to hip inflammation and a rib cartilage fracture, but continues to make progress on his return. With manager David Ross having indicated yesterday that Stroman is ahead of schedule following a successful live batting practice session on Thursday, it’s still nonetheless an encouraging sign for fans on the north side that Stroman is set to throw a second live BP at the club’s Arizona complex on Monday, per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney. It seems reasonable to expect that if Monday’s session goes well, Stroman could advance to a rehab assignment in fairly short order. While it’s not clear if there’s enough time left in the regular season for Stroman to build up to a starter’s workload, it’s becoming increasingly likely the veteran righty returns to the mound in Chicago before the season comes to a close. With the Cubs currently in the thick of the playoff hunt, it’s possible Stroman could impact the team into October even if he isn’t able to return before the end of the regular season.

Cubs Outright Shane Greene

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After clearing waivers, Shane Greene has been outrighted to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, as per the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Chicago designated Greene for assignment on Wednesday, and it isn’t yet known if he’ll accept the outright or (as is his right for a player with his amount of MLB service time) opt for free agency.

Greene has chosen free agency over past outright assignments, though the equation could be a little different this time since he already had an extended stint on the open market before signing a minor league deal with the Cubs in late June.  Given the late date on the calendar, Greene might prefer to stay in a familiar organization and bide his time for another call-up rather than roll the dice on landing with another team before the 2023 is over.

The Cubs selected Greene’s contract on September 1, and he threw one inning of scoreless ball in one appearance in the Show before being DFA’ed.  While just a cup of coffee on the active roster, it still means that Greene has now appeared in each of the last 10 Major League seasons, even if his 2022 participation also came in limited fashion (two games and six total innings with the Dodgers and Yankees).

The 34-year-old Greene is best known for his time as the Tigers’ closer, highlighted by a 2019 All-Star appearance.  After posting a 3.25 ERA over 221 1/3 relief innings from 2017-20 with Detroit and Atlanta, Greene hasn’t been the same since another lengthy stay in free agency.  Hitting the market during the 2020-21 offseason, Greene ended up not finding another big league deal until May 2021, re-signing with the Braves.  The righty has just 21 2/3 MLB innings under his belt since, with a 6.83 ERA.

Greene’s time with Triple-A Iowa consisted of five starts, which is notable since he hadn’t started a game at any level since 2016.  This could have been the Cubs’ way of rebuilding Greene’s arm strength since he didn’t have the benefit of a Spring Training, or it could be Greene’s way of trying to reinvent himself as something of a swingman rather than as a full-time reliever.  With a 2.21 ERA in 20 1/3 innings in Iowa, the results were intriguing enough that the experiment will probably continue if Greene remains in the organization, or this (albeit limited) success could also factor into Greene’s decision to potentially look to a new team.

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