The Chicago Cubs made a handful of roster moves prior to the start of their Saturday doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, including activating starting pitcher Javier Assad from the 15-day injured list.
Assad was placed on the IL on June 27 after suffering a right forearm extensor strain, according to the team. In a bit of interesting roster maneuvering, he was added to the roster as the so-called “27th man,” with MLB teams permitted to add an extra player to their rosters in the event of a doubleheader.
That player is then typically sent back down to the minor leagues, but in Assad’s case, he will likely be added onto the official 26-man roster following the conclusion of the second game of the doubleheader, with the Cubs optioning another pitcher to the minor leagues with only one game to go before the All-Star break.
Assad is expected to start the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, with Hayden Wesneski starting the first game of the day in St. Louis.
In 16 starts for the Cubs this season, Assad has a 4-3 record with a 3.04 ERA. He has struck out 79 batters in 83 innings of work, and has a WHIP of 1.28 on the season.
The other big roster move of the day came as the team placed Luke Little on the 15-day injured list after he suffered a left shoulder strain during Friday’s win over the Cardinals. Little appeared in the game in the eighth inning, but was forced to leave after only throwing four pitches to Lars Nootbaar. He summoned trainers out to the mound and was immediately removed from the contest after experiencing discomfort in his shoulder.
Little has been on a hot streak in recent games, allowing just six hits and no earned runs in his last nine appearances prior to Friday night. He has 11 strikeouts and four walks during that time. On the season, he has a 3.46 ERA, with 28 strikeouts in 26 innings.
Chicago Cubs
In a corresponding roster move, the Cubs recalled pitcher Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa. Roberts has appeared in three games for the Cubs this season, giving up five hits and zero earned runs while striking out three batters.
With Assad serving as the 27th man, the Cubs will have the option to make a roster move at the conclusion of the first game on Saturday if their bullpen ends up having to work significant innings. Roberts is one of the pitchers with options remaining, and he could make way for another hurler should the Cubs need a fresh arm for the second game of the day.
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The Cubs and Cardinals will get things started at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, then will follow up with a 7:15 p.m. nightcap.
