After many rough starts for the Chicago Cubs, Ben Brown has finally been optioned to Triple-A Iowa. In a corresponding move, right-hander Porter Hodge was reinstated from the injured list.
Cubs Pitcher Ben Brown Sent to Triple-A
Brown’s Lackluster Pitching
Ben Brown has been a disappointment this year, for lack of a better word. This season, he has made 14 starts and holds a 6.13 ERA with a 4-6 W-L record. While Brown was never a top prospect, most expected him to be better than this. One thing he was good at was striking people out, but even that couldn’t save him. Brown gave up two or more earned runs in every start but four this year. He has been one of the Cubs’ only options with their many injuries. Justin Steele is out for the year, and Shota Imanaga has been out since May 4th. But with Imanaga making his return later this week, the Cubs had a choice to make. It was either going to be Ben Brown, Cade Horton, or Colin Rea to be removed from the rotation. Ultimately, they chose Ben Brown.
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Ben Brown could have also made the move to the bullpen, as his two-pitch mix is much better suited there. But with Porter Hodge coming back from the injured list, one of them had to be optioned. Hodge is a really solid arm out of the Cubs’ bullpen. He has a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings pitched this year, but that is mostly due to two blowups. Other than that, he has been really solid. He is coming back from an oblique injury, and he last pitched in the majors on May 17th.
The Next Step
With a pretty full Chicago bullpen and the possibility of a trade for another starting pitcher, there will not be much space on the Cubs pitching staff for Ben Brown. All he can do now is go down to Triple-A Iowa and pitch as well as he possibly can. Whether that is as a starter or in the bullpen, Brown needs to prove that he can still be of value to this Chicago Cubs team.
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