Whos next in wild Cubs season? Pete Crow-Armstrong, more names to know for September

CHICAGO — After so many turbulent periods and exhilarating moments, the Chicago Cubs still have 30 games left to define their season. Team officials continue to strategize for this closing stretch and discuss internal options for when the active roster expands from 26 to 28 players on Friday. The right moves could make all the difference.
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The situation is also fluid, as shown by the Los Angeles Angels’ stunning reversal from acquiring talent at the trade deadline to dumping players through Major League Baseball’s waivers system. After executing a series of win-now deals to improve Shohei Ohtani’s supporting cast, the Angels began August with a seven-game losing streak, absorbed Ohtani’s injury diagnosis and conceded Tuesday by placing five players on waivers.
The Cubs instantly recognized the possibility of Lucas Giolito falling to the Cincinnati Reds or San Francisco Giants, two other teams fighting for a wild-card spot in the National League playoffs and trying to piece together their pitching staffs. The Reds and Giants are also on the Cubs’ upcoming schedule. Though Giolito struggled in six starts (6.89 ERA) after getting traded from the Chicago White Sox, he’s still a former All-Star whose name has appeared in the American League Cy Young Award voting in three separate seasons.
These Angels players will be sorted out Thursday, going to the team with the worst record that made a claim. Matt Moore stands out amidst that group as a left-handed reliever who was firmly on the Cubs’ radar before he signed a one-year, $7.55 million contract with the Angels. However, besides the teams in front of them with claiming priority, the Cubs are also hovering very close to the $233 million luxury-tax threshold, which the franchise does not intend to pass this year.
That path is based more on baseball-related strategy and future planning than financial considerations. It’s worked so far as Justin Steele continued his breakthrough season with Tuesday’s 1-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, shutting down a first-place team for six innings and moving the Cubs back to four games out in the division race.
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Steele has to be the ace when the Cubs aren’t banking on Marcus Stroman to return to their rotation this season. Stroman’s latest check-in showed signs of healing with his right rib cartilage fracture, according to a team spokesman, and enough progress to clear him for light activities. But this is a mysterious injury, and it has been a month since Stroman last pitched in a game and went on the injured list with right hip inflammation. There is no timeline for when he will pitch again.
While Stroman’s process is more out of sight, out of mind, the Cubs are closely watching:
It doesn’t make sense for the Cubs to immediately add Crow-Armstrong to their 40-man roster — their top prospect doesn’t have to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this winter — and then have him sit on the bench while Cody Bellinger and Mike Tauchman play center field.
That caution doesn’t mean the Cubs have ruled out the idea of promoting Crow-Armstrong from Triple-A Iowa in September. In fact, Crow-Armstrong is a primary focus during those deliberations because his speed and Gold Glove-caliber defense are viewed as game-changing talents. The Cubs just don’t have to be in a rush to make that move Friday because Bellinger is again performing at an MVP level and Tauchman has been the ideal role player for this team.
The calculus would change if Bellinger gets hurt again, Tauchman goes into an extended slump or the clubhouse looks like it needs another burst of energy. The front office could decide to push this button later in September, especially if the Cubs finish strong and realize they will need Crow-Armstrong in October.
“We’re consistently looking for ways to both develop our players and also help our major-league team at the same time,” Cubs vice president of player development Jared Banner said. “Sometimes those things dovetail perfectly, other times they don’t, so I don’t think we want to let Sept. 1 necessarily dictate that decision-making. It’s more about who the player is, where they are in their maturation. Can they help us? Is there an opportunity for them to help us here? And then go from there.”
"He is everything that you want and more from a top prospect."@voiceofcohen2 on Pete Crow-Armstrong. pic.twitter.com/Toczg2tx0S
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 24, 2023
After a devastating combination of shoulder and ankle injuries, which happened over the winter and sidelined him for much of the season, Canario has started to produce at the high level that once had him in consideration for top-100 prospect lists.
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“That was the only question for us,” Banner said, emphasizing Canario’s health as the main factor in the next step of his development. “Obviously, he has other things to work on between where he is now and getting to the big leagues. He’s been working on those, getting the ball in the middle of the strike zone, trying to avoid chase. Because when he makes contact, damage follows, so we just want to put him in a position where he’s making a lot of contact.”
Alexander Canario collects a career-high four XBH for the @IowaCubs!
The No. 14 @Cubs prospect smacks two homers and two doubles on a four-RBI night: pic.twitter.com/a4EUV89rfY
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) August 25, 2023
Canario posted a 20 wRC+ in his first nine games at Triple A this season, but he has since taken off. Overall, he has a 118 wRC+ with Iowa, and he has hit six of his eight Triple-A homers over the last two weeks. He’s once again on one of the torrid stretches that seemed to come regularly for him last season. If the Cubs were out of the playoff race, he’d likely already be up with the major-league club, considering he’s already on the 40-man roster.
There is internal support behind the idea of moving Canario up to the majors, but no decision has been made yet. His track record within the farm system has shown that he usually struggles at first, but with consistent playing time, he eventually adjusts and quickly turns into a highly productive offensive force. Those everyday at-bats won’t be available for him yet, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have any value.
The question for September becomes what’s best for him and the team. Should he continue to develop with Iowa playing every day until its season is over? Or could he come up and help the big-league club as a righty slugger off the bench who could be used situationally? His role likely wouldn’t be too dissimilar to what Patrick Wisdom is doing right now for the team, but he’d provide some value in the outfield defensively.
With Friday’s doubleheader in Cincinnati, the Cubs are going to need another pitcher to make a start sometime over the next week. That could mean pushing Javier Assad to Saturday and having someone else start one of those two Friday games along with Jordan Wicks. Or the Cubs could use a different starter four days later against the Giants at Wrigley Field. Either way, someone not currently in the rotation will be needed.
One surprise option that’s emerged is Greene, a former closer for the Detroit Tigers. Without a job entering this season, Greene was signed to a minor-league deal by the Cubs in late June, and a month later he was throwing in the Arizona Complex League. In his last two outings, Greene has gone five and four innings, respectively, working his way up to 75 pitches in his last start.
“He has the ability to give length and he’s been having success doing so,” Banner said. “When a guy goes out there and pitches well, you tend to give him more of an opportunity to pitch. So why take him out right away when he’s doing so well? He’s able to carry his velo, carry his stuff and keep getting guys out. He’s been really impressive.”
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It’s not a guarantee that Greene will make a start for the Cubs, but their options are limited. Hayden Wesneski isn’t fully stretched out and Caleb Kilian has struggled mightily during his brief stints in the majors. Unless the team wants to go with a pure bullpen game, Greene may be the best option.
David Ross has been searching for ways to rest his most trusted bullpen arms, desperately looking for help beyond Mark Leiter Jr. in getting out lefties. That’s where Little, a 2020 fourth-rounder, may come into play. Little started the season at High A as a starter, but four outings into the season shifted to the bullpen.
One relief appearance later he was up to Double A, then by early August he’d been promoted to Iowa. After a rough first outing, the 6-foot-8 lefty has been dominant, working 8 2/3 shutout innings in his last five appearances, striking out 42.9 percent of the batters he’s faced while walking 8.6 percent and allowing a .161 batting average against.
Being so tall, Little had struggled repeating his delivery and commanding the zone for much of his professional career. But that seems to have been rectified, at least for the time being.
Luke Little's final strikeout from Friday night is good for your @GreatClips Clip of the Homestand. The southpaw struck out five of the seven batters he faced in 2.0 scoreless innings. pic.twitter.com/QjOHnmeGjG
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) August 21, 2023
“I think the move to the bullpen has helped,” Banner said. “He’s focused a lot more on building his athleticism in the weight room as well as with his nutrition. He’s taken some major steps forward from a maturity standpoint and just becoming a professional. It’s showing at the Triple-A level at this point.”
When a reliever is locked in like Little is at the moment, teams love to try and ride that high and take advantage of someone who is likely brimming with confidence. That and the fact that this roster is begging for a lefty reliever who can miss bats means Little makes a lot of sense as a September call-up.
The highly regarded pitching prospect the Cubs received from the Philadelphia Phillies in last summer’s David Robertson trade has been throwing in bullpen sessions at the team’s Arizona complex. Brown, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, is recovering from an injury that has been described as an oblique/lat issue. “The hope will be that we have him in a minor-league game within the next week or so,” Banner said. If he had been healthy, Brown likely would have already made his major-league debut.
(Photo: Matt Dirksen / Getty Images)
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