5:02 PM: The Cubs officially activated Miley this evening. They cleared a spot for him on the active roster by placing outfielder Michael Hermosillo on the 10-day IL with a left quadriceps strain, the team announced. Hermosillo’s IL stint is retroactive to May 8th.
As noted below, Miley will make his debut for the underachieving Cubs in tonight’s tilt against the Padres. Hermosillo, who’s played only sparingly this season, was off to a particularly slow start, slashing only .071/.257/.107 in 35 trips to the plate.
12:17 PM: Left-hander Wade Miley will be activated from the Cubs’ 10-day injured list in time to start today’s game against the Padres, Chicago manager David Ross told reporters (including MLB.com’s Shaun O’Neill) yesterday. It will mark Miley’s season debut, as the veteran was sidelined after developing inflammation in his left elbow during Spring Training.
The injury led to a 10-day shutdown period, but Miley has gradually ramped up since, building to a 41-pitch minor league rehab start last Thursday. Ross said that Miley won’t be held to a specific pitch count, so it won’t be a piggyback situation for Miley’s first outing of 2022.
As a cost-cutting move last November, the Reds rather surprisingly placed Miley on waivers, allowing the Cubs to claim the southpaw and then exercise a $10MM club option on his services for 2022. Miley’s solid track record over the last 11 seasons made him something of a no-brainer pickup for a Cubs team that was short on pitching, and Chicago again finds itself short on arms as Miley returns the IL. Marcus Stroman is on the COVID-related injured list, Justin Steele is nursing a sore thumb, and (like Miley) both Adbert Alzolay and Alec Mills have yet to pitch this season due to injuries.