Cubs roster move: Jason Heyward activated from injured list, Greg Deichmann optioned

The Cubs wanted to have a look at one of their trade-deadline acquisitions, outfielder Greg Deichmann, who came over from the Athletics in the Andrew Chafin deal.

And so, 12 days ago, Jason Heyward was placed on the injured list with what was described as “left index finger inflammation.”

Deichmann was called up from Triple-A Iowa to make his major-league debut. His seven MLB games (five starts) have been a disappointment. He’s hitting .174/.174/.174 — an unusual triple-slash — 4-for-23 with no extra-base hits or walks and eight strikeouts.

Watching him play right field, he doesn’t appear to have better-than-average speed, he doesn’t take particularly good routes to balls and his arm is average at best. So, this experiment appears to be over.

And so now, he’s headed back to Iowa:

Heyward is having a miserable 2021, hitting .198/.271/.322 (51-for-258) with six home runs. I’d expect him to get considerable playing time the rest of the year (he’s in Sunday’s starting lineup) as the Cubs attempt to see if he can have a good last six weeks and perhaps they can trade him.

As always, we await developments. Today’s game preview will post at 10:30 a.m. CT.