Ivy League Cubs

By: Ethan Diamond

The Cubs have made three roster moves prior to their series opener against the Marlins in Miami. The first to be announced was INF Luis Vazquez being brought back up to the major league team. Vazquez previously spent time on the major league roster in late May, but only got into two games. One of those games was a blowout loss against the Braves that he got to pinch hit in late, and the other was a win in Milwaukee, where he pinch ran in extra innings. He came across to score the winning run in that contest. Since then, he hasn’t gotten into a major league game. He spent time on the injured list in Iowa but was recently activated and returned to the Iowa lineup even with the addition of infielders Matt Shaw and James Triantos. We’ll see if Vazquez actually gets a chance to play, or if he will just serve as bench depth.

To make room for Vazquez on the active roster, David Bote was designated for assignment. Bote, entering this year, had not played for the big league team since 2022 and was on the final year of the five-year, $15 million extension the Cubs gave him back in 2019. He was DFA’d following the 2022 season, but was selected back to the 40-Man and active roster on June 2nd. Since he was brought back, he mainly served in a pinch hit/defensive substitution role as he only had 46 at-bats in 37 games played. He hit .304/.333/.391 with 6 RBIs this season with zero home runs. He will go on waivers, where the Cubs are hoping some team puts a claim on him and eats his remaining salary this season.

Taking Bote’s spot on the 40-Man roster is Right Handed Pitcher Gavin Hollowell, as the Cubs claimed him off waivers from Arizona and optioned him to Iowa. Hollowell appeared in 32 games across 2022 and 2023 for the Colorado Rockies, pitching to a 2-2 record with a 6.20 ERA in 40.2 innings across those two seasons, striking out 40 batters and walking 22. He even picked up a save as well. The Rockies put him on waivers in June, and he was claimed by the Diamondbacks but never got into a big league game for them. He pitched 17.1 innings in AAA for Arizona, pitching to a 3.63 ERA, a 30.4% strikeout rate, and a large 16.5% walk rate. He’s a guy the Cubs are taking a flier on, and pictured below is his pitching profile from this season using Thomas Nestico’s pitching summary app. (Note that it appears the bar showing IP, PA, ERA, etc. appears to be bugged so ignore that)

Kyle Hendricks will take the mound tonight against Max Meyer as the Cubs begin a crucial series against the Marlins where they will look to sweep them to get over .500.

Image Credit: Marquee Sports Network