The Chicago Cubs went from having a slew of injury issues in their starting rotation to now having an abundance of arms.
On Sunday, the Cubs activated Edward Cabrera from the 15-day injured list. The right-hander will start this afternoon's matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.
To make room for Cabrera on the 26-man roster, Chicago optioned veteran swingman Javier Assad to Triple-A Iowa. Assad had a 3.59 ERA in 21 appearances (10 starts) this season.
Cabrera made three minor league rehab starts on his rehab assignment and looked sharp in all of his outings. Most recently, he reached a total of 64 pitches, which means he will likely be on a limited pitch count in his first start back from the IL today.
Cabrera has been out since June 23 with a left hamstring strain. He also missed time earlier in the year with a blister on his right middle-finger.
Beyond his injury woes, Cabrera is 5-4 with a 5.10 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 14 starts with the Cubs this season.
The Cubs acquired Cabrera from the Miami Marlins via trade in the offseason. However, it has been a disappointing first campaign in Chicago so far for the right-hander.
The hope is that Cabrera can regain his promising form that he showed with the Marlins last season when he had a 3.53 ERA.
With Cabrera rejoining the Cubs' rotation, left-hander David Peterson will be moved to the bullpen, as manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Sunday.
The Cubs brought in Peterson in a June trade with the New York Mets. The southpaw had a respectable 4.19 ERA in eight starts since being acquired by the Cubs. Peterson has experience pitching out of the bullpen in his career and should make an impact in his new role.
The Cubs' rotation now features: Cabrera, Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga.
Chicago enters play on Sunday with a 72-52 record and a six game lead in the top National League wild-card spot. They're also just four games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central division.
