The Cubs have made a bullpen move.
Génesis Cabrera was signed by the Cubs May 29 and added to the active roster when Julian Merryweather was designated for assignment.
Cabrera’s first few outings as a Cub were decent, but the last two… not so much. He wound up allowing four home runs in 9⅓ innings as a Cub and posted an ERA of 9.64 in nine relief appearances.
The addition of Cabrera was the most recent major-league transaction by the Cubs — they hadn’t made one the entire month of June, until today. Friday’s ninth-inning debacle was apparently enough for Jed Hoyer & Co., as they designated Cabrera for assignment.
To replace Cabrera on the 26-man active roster, Nate Pearson wa recalled from Triple-A Iowa. Pearson has a 2.22 ERA,29 strikeouts and just one home run allowed in 19 appearances (one start) since he was optioned to Iowa on April 15. In eight games during his first stint with the Cubs to open the season, he posted a 10.38 ERA.
Most likely, Pearson is simply a placeholder who might throw a handful of innings until Shōta Imanaga returns, hopefully next week. At that point either Colin Rea or Ben Brown will likely move to the bullpen. At least that’s the way I see it. As always, we await developments.
For now, the DFA of Cabrera leaves an open spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster.