Cubs bolster pitching staff with slew of roster moves
NEW YORK — David Ross had already announced Robert Stock as the Cubs’ starting pitcher for Wednesday night’s game but the team still needed to go through the process of adding him to the roster.
The Cubs announced a series of corresponding roster moves Wednesday evening, with Stock’s contract selected from Triple-A Iowa. Trevor Megill was optioned to Iowa and right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott was also recalled from Triple-A to add length in the Cubs bullpen behind Stock.
Megill, 27, has a 0.00 ERA in 4 appearances with the big-league club this season while also shuttling back and forth to the minors and spending some time on the injured list.
The Cubs also placed Dillon Maples on the 10-day IL with a right triceps strain (retroactive to June 15). Maples, 29, has a 1.99 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 18 appearances this season while striking out 32 batters in 22.2 innings working mostly in low-leverage situations.
To create room for Stock on the 40-man roster, the Cubs placed catcher P.J. Higgins on the 60-day IL. The rookie was initially added to the 10-day IL last weekend with a right forearm strain but an MRI revealed some damage to the elbow.
Higgins reported feeling sore after the Cubs’ series in San Diego and will get a second opinion this week to determine if he’ll need to have surgery.
“That stinks,” David Ross said. “That was some bad news we got after a good trip in San Diego. Stinks for him, getting started in his career and having a setback like that. He’ll be back. We’ll see how it goes from there.”
Higgins, 28, appeared in 9 games with the big-league club after making his MLB debut on May 19. He has drawn rave reviews from every corner of the organization as he’s developed throughout the system.