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It seems every year there’s a player who goes up and down from the Cubs to Triple-A Iowa, depending on the team’s needs.
A couple of years ago, it was Matt Szczur, who went up and down seven different times.
This year, it appears the lucky guy accumulating frequent-flyer miles will be Justin Grimm:
Also, #Cubs roster update: Grimm optioned to Iowa to make room for Eddie Butler, who is starting Friday vs STL
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) May 11, 2017
Grimm’s now on his second 2017 trip to Des Moines.
Truth be told, he hasn’t been very good this year, posting a 7.53 ERA and 1.674 WHIP, with eight walks and six (!) home runs allowed in 14⅓ innings. In some ways Grimm hasn’t been good since September 2015, when he suddenly lost command. There doesn’t seem to be any problem with his velocity, but command and control have been issues.
That means Felix Pena sticks around, and so does Jeimer Candelario. The latter will probably remain on the 25-man roster until Jason Heyward comes back from the disabled list.
There’s also been a change in the Cardinals rotation for the weekend as Michael Wacha is not available. Thus the pitching matchups:
#Cubs vs Cards updated: Fri, Butler vs Leake; Sat, Lester vs Martinez; Sun, Arrieta vs Wainwright
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) May 11, 2017
Those are potentially better matchups than the ones that previously existed for Saturday and Sunday. Looking forward to a tough series against an always-tough opponent.