Cubs reliever designated for assignment to make room for Cole Hamels |
CHICAGO — After spending over a month on the injured list due to an oblique strain, Chicago Cubs starting pitcher
Cole Hamels is set to return to the mound for the Cubs on Saturday afternoon. Hamels will toe the rubber in a big-league game for the first time since June 28 when the Cubs battle the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. The veteran left-hander recently completed a rehab stint in the minor leagues without facing any setbacks.
In order to make room for Hamels on the active roster, the Cubs designated relief pitcher Brad Brach for assignment. Brach was expected to become an integral part of the Cubs' bullpen when he signed a one-year, $3 million deal with a mutual option for 2020 during this past offseason. However, Brach, who was an All-Star in 2016, never settled into a groove for the North Siders. Due to the Cubs' recent acquisitions of relievers Derek Holland and David Phelps, as well as the recent ascensions of young relievers Kyle Ryan and Rowan Wick, evidently, Brach was expendable. Brach appeared in 42 games and pitched in 39 2/3 innings for the Cubs, compiling a dismal 6.13 ERA. Now, at 33 years old, Brach will have to look to continue his pitching career elsewhere. The #Cubs today activated LHP Cole Hamels from the 10-day IL. RHP Brad Brach was designated for assignment. pic.twitter.com/Q7p9aE1VSQ Press release: CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today activated left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels off of the 10-day injured list. Right-handed pitcher Brad Brach has been designated for assignment. Hamels will make the start for the Cubs today when they continue their three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Hamels, 35, was placed on the injured list on June 29 with a left oblique strain and made a pair of rehab starts with Triple-A Iowa as part of his return: July 23 at San Antonio (2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 35 pitches) and July 28 vs. Round Rock (3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 59 pitches). Hamels has gone 6-3 with a 2.98 ERA (33 ER/99.2 IP) in 17 starts this season. His most-recent big league outing was June 28 at Cincinnati, when he pitched just 1.0 inning before exiting due to injury and landing on the injured list the next day. Brach, 33, went 4-3 with a 6.13 ERA (27 ER/39.2 IP) in 42 relief outings with the Cubs this season.
