The Chicago Cubs made a roster move prior to their scheduled doubleheader on Friday against the Boston Red Sox, as right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera has been placed on the family medical emergency list.
Hopefully, the situation taking Cabrera away from the team isn’t too serious, but it does mean the right-handed pitcher is done for the regular season. A player on the family medical emergency list is required to miss at least three days and a maximum of seven. The 28-year-old has been pitching out of the bullpen since his return from the injured list earlier in September.
It has been a frustrating and downright disappointing season for Cabrera, who has dealt with a blister issue a few times, leading to two stints on the injured list, and a third after he suffered a hamstring strain in late June. The results when healthy have been poor, with few signs of improvement in 2026. It’s been a major step back for Cabrera in his first season with the Cubs after his breakout 2025 season, which led to a trade with the Miami Marlins.
Looking ahead to next week’s Wild Card Series, which at this point would be on the road against the San Diego Padres, Cabrera would be eligible to return, but his performance leads you to believe that he will be left out of the playoff roster entirely.
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As for this weekend’s series against the Red Sox, right-handed pitcher Gavin Hollowell has been called up to replace Cabrera in the bullpen.
The 28-year-old relief pitcher was having a nice year out of the bullpen before an injury sidelined Hollowell at the end of July. The sample size was relatively small- 14 appearances covering 14.1 innings- but nonetheless, the right-hander was stellar with a 2.51 ERA. That included a stretch of only giving up two earned runs in 12.2 innings from June 16 through July 30.
In his last 13 games before going down with right shoulder inflammation, Hollowell posted a 1.42 ERA with 12 strikeouts.
Hollowell returned to action in September with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A after recovering from his shoulder injury. The right-hander made four appearances, struck out six batters, walked three, and allowed one run in 4.1 innings.
