The Cubs announced that right-hander Edward Cabrera has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right middle finger blister. Shortstop Dansby Swanson has been placed on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain. Infielder James Triantos has also been optioned to Triple-A Iowa. In corresponding moves, the club has recalled right-hander Javier Assad and outfielder Kevin Alcántara, in addition to selecting the contract of infielder Owen Miller. To open a 40-man spot for Miller, right-hander Daniel Palencia has been transferred to the 60-day IL. Prior to the official announcement, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com noted that Miller, Alcántara and Assad were in the clubhouse.
The IL placements don’t come as any surprise. It was already reported that Swanson’s oblique injury was serious enough to put him on the shelf for several weeks. Manager Craig Counsell said today that it would be about four weeks, per Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network. That will leave Nico Hoerner covering shortstop for the foreseeable future while Pedro Ramírez will get more playing time at second. Matt Shaw could factor in at the keystone if he can return from his own IL stint before Swanson. Shaw has been on the IL since late June due to left hand sprain. He could start a rehab assignment on Wednesday, per Bastian.
Adding Miller is likely about the shortstop position. Ramírez and Triantos have played short in the minors but only briefly and not in many years. Hoerner is perfectly capable of being the regular there but he would be the only real option for that spot without this move.
The 29-year-old Miller signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason. He has a decent .296/.350/.457 line in Triple-A this year, translating to a 102 wRC+. That is probably setting expectations a bit too high, however, as that production is buoyed by a .328 batting average on balls in play. He has a more modest .238/.287/.342 line and 75 wRC+ in his big league career.
Even if he doesn’t hit much, he can contribute in other ways. He’s a fast runner and has 18 career steals, only getting caught twice. He only has eight big league innings at shortstop but has logged hundreds of innings there in the minors. He has experience at every spot on the diamond except for catcher, so he’s a fine fit for a bench role.
As for Cabrera, he just came off the IL yesterday, missing several weeks with a hamstring strain. But in his first outing back, a blister prevented him from getting through four innings. It seems the Cubs have decided to give him a couple of weeks to let that heal up.
Blisters have been an ongoing issue for Cabrera throughout his career. By the time he’s eligible to return from this absence, it will be September. Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, Counsell said the Cubs will keep him in shorter bursts since the blister issues get worse as a game goes on. In other words, he’ll be a reliever in September.
What remains to be seen is if this is just a plan for this year or going forward. It’s entirely possible Cabrera’s blister is healed in the offseason but, as mentioned, this isn’t his first time dealing with this problem. While with the Marlins, he hit the IL due to a blister in both 2021 and 2025.
Cabrera is under club control for two more seasons after this one. The Cubs gave up a notable package to get him out of Miami, sending away three players, including Owen Caissie to get three seasons of Cabrera. Presumably, they wanted him to be a staple of their rotation for that time frame and wouldn’t give up on his starting potential easily, but perhaps they feel he’s more likely to avoid further absences by staying in a relief role.
As for Palencia, this is a procedural move. Elbow inflammation sent him to the 15-day IL on June 16. He has already been on the shelf for 60 days and is therefore eligible for reinstatement at any time. He has been on a rehab assignment for almost two weeks and could be back any day now.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
