Who Should The Cubs Call Up In September?

September 1 is three weeks from today, though for the Chicago Cubs, some September call-ups might wait until a week after that, because the Triple-A season ends September 7 and the Iowa Cubs are still in playoff contention. You can't simply denude the Iowa roster of players that can help it win, if they're still in it.

Nevertheless, the Cubs are likely to add six or seven players to their active roster when September begins, perhaps a couple by the first of the month and then more after the Pacific Coast League season concludes.

Unlike many Septembers, there won't be many prospect callups -- since most of those are already playing for the Cubs! Instead, we'll likely see a number of players activated from the disabled list. By the time September 1 rolls around, Tommy La Stella should have been activated from the 60-day DL, which would fill the 40-man roster.

Other players who likely will return from stints on the 15-day DL: Neil Ramirez and Zac Rosscup.

Callups from Iowa for players already on the 40-man roster could include Mike Olt, Yoervis Medina, Brian Schlitter and Tsuyoshi Wada, though I don't really see how Wada fits on this team. Medina and Schlitter would be extra bullpen bodies around to pitch in case of blowouts to save the rest of the pen. I don't see Rafael Soriano pitching for this team again.

I suppose they could clear off some players on the 40-man roster and add Pierce Johnson, but I don't see them necessarily wanting him to pitch in pennant-race games.

In the past couple of years the Cubs have added more than just six or seven players, but those were Cubs teams headed in very different directions than this one is.

So, there are my thoughts about September call-ups for this year. What do you think?