Cubs fans are on the edge of their seats, waiting for the team to officially announce the return of starting right fielder Seiya Suzuki. He’s been at Triple-A since Saturday for his rehab assignment and on Friday Cubs GM Carter Hawkins pretty much confirmed that Suzuki will be back tonight.
Hawkins was on 670 The Score on Friday and said he expects Suzuki back against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After playing in his fourth game with the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday, Suzuki did not play on Thursday and told Tommy Birch, who covers the Iowa Cubs, that he planned on re-joining the big league club this weekend.
Suzuki returning won’t be the only roster move the Cubs will be making as they begin their six-game road trip in Los Angeles Friday night. The Cubs have been with a seven-man bullpen since Monday, when they optioned right-handed pitcher Javier Assad to Triple-A.
Right-handed relief pitcher Jeremiah Estrada has been great to begin the season at Triple-A and he’s currently the only other pitcher on the team’s 40-man roster besides left-handed reliever Brandon Hughes, who is still ramping up with the Iowa Cubs. Estrada was seen at the airport Thursday night, heading to Los Angeles.
Estrada, 24, has made four relief appearances so far this year at Triple-A, throwing five shutout innings. The right-hander has been nearly flawless, surrendering just two hits, while striking out seven batters and walking none.
Last year, Estrada made his MLB debut with the Cubs in late August against the Toronto Blue Jays. Overall, the righty made five outings out of the bullpen for the Cubs and struck out eight batters in 5.2 innings. He allowed two earned runs in his first cup of coffee in the major leagues.
Estrada was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 draft out of high school and although the 2015-20 Cubs did not develop a lot of pitchers, Estrada is on his way to being another success story for home grown pitchers in the past couple of years. In parts of five minor league seasons, Estrada has posted a 1.83 ERA in 56 games, striking out 144 hitters in 93.1 innings. Like many pitchers, Estrada dealt with injuries early in his pro career, missing all of 2018 and then had Tommy John surgery after coming back in 2019.
The 2020 minor league season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2021 Estrada was limited to 11 games after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
It’s been a battle to reach the majors and despite the disappointment of starting 2023 back at Triple-A, Estrada will get the chance to become a cornerstone in the Cubs bullpen for several years to come.
One other roster move the Cubs may have to do at some point is placing outfielder Cody Bellinger on paternity leave.
With Bellinger on the verge of leaving the team, Nelson Velázquez should get the starting nod in center field to fill in for the former Dodger.
