The Cubs have made some 40-man roster moves after Wednesday and Thursday’s flurry of deals. Let me sort them out for you.
Michael Soroka and Andrew Kittredge were acquired late Wednesday by trade. Both were added to the 40-man roster without corresponding moves, as the 40-man had two open spots prior to those trades.
For the additions of WIlli Castro and Taylor Rogers, both acquired Thursday, the Cubs designated Ryan Pressly for assignment and moved Miguel Amaya to the 60-day injured list.
Pressly had
his moments, both good and bad, for the Cubs this year. As they did with Hector Neris in 2024 when he started to fail, the Cubs decided to move on from Pressly.
Moving Amaya to the 60-day IL doesn’t mean he’ll be out another 60 days, as those moves can be backdated. It just moves Amaya off the 40-man roster and delays another DFA decision, though I’m not sure what purpose Ben Cowles serves on the 40-man roster at this point.
Moves to add the new four Cubs to the active roster haven’t been announced yet, I assume we’ll hear tomorrow morning. But here’s what I think will happen.
Moises Ballesteros will be sent back to Triple-A Iowa to make room for Castro, who essentially replaces Vidal Bruján (and is a significant upgrade from Bruján).
For the sake of argument, let’s say Rogers replaces Pressly.
That leaves two spots which will have to be opened for Soroka and Kittredge. Gavin Hollowell has options remaining, so he’ll be sent back to Iowa, that’s one. The other one is likely a DFA of Brooks Kriske, who is out of options. That would put those two new pitchers on the active roster and still leave an open 40-man spot.
That’s how I see it happening; we’ll find out for sure tomorrow. There will be four new Cubs since the last game at Milwaukee on Wednesday. The team has shored up the bullpen and really improved the bench.
What happens going forward? All together now: “As always, we await developments.”
More from bleedcubbieblue.com:
- Cubs acquire Andrew Kittredge from Orioles
- Cubs 10, Brewers 3: Moises Ballesteros and Kyle Tucker get it done
- Cubs roster move: Moises Ballesteros recalled, Vidal Bruján designated for assignment
- BCB After Dark: The Cubs acquire Michael Soroka
- In remembrance of Ryne Sandberg, a great baseball player and better human being
- Brewers 9, Cubs 3: Hey, Jed! Time to bring in the reinforcements
- Minor League Wrap: Javier Assad makes a strong rehab appearance in Iowa’s 5-2 win
