Chicago Cubs promote Kyle Schwarber; Rafael Soriano up to Triple-A

It’s time to begin the second half of the 2015 campaign and the Chicago Cubs started it off with another loud bang for the second time this season. In case you missed it, staff writer Tobey Johnson covered the news regarding rookie catcher, Kyle Schwarber‘s recent call-up to the big league squad to fill in for the injured veteran, Miguel Montero.

Schwarber had himself a brief audition with the Cubs earlier on in the year, serving as their designated hitter during Father’s Day week against the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins. The heavy hitter turned some heads by recording a triple, home run, a walk and six RBI while going 8-for-22 prior to being demoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs after Father’s Day.

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• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

With the Cubs trailing the St. Louis Cardinals by 8.5 games entering today’s showdown with the Atlanta Braves, adding a guy like Schwarber to their lineup should help them close the gap. First, they’ll need to reclaim second-place in the N.L. Central while hanging onto the second spot in the Wild Card race.

While Schwarber rejoins Joe Maddon and the rest of the 25-man roster, former closer Rafael Soriano will join the Iowa Cubs this weekend after spending time with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies according to Carrie Muskat.

She also notes that outfielder Anthony Giansanti was placed on the 7-day disabled list while southpaw Jeffry Antigua was sent down to Tennessee.

Soriano, 35, signed a minor league deal with the club five weeks ago and wasn’t expected to work out of the Major League bullpen until July. I’m sure it has to be a relief considering how long it took him to land yet another job within the league.

So far since joining the organization, he’s allowed only three hits, 4/3 K/BB ratio, three walks and one unearned run across five innings of work.

Prior to inking his contract with the Cubs, his agent, Scott Boras was hoping to reel in some off-season money despite the fact that the season had already been a couple of months in.

This is the same man who represents Kris Bryant and publically criticized Theo Epstein on how he was handling the rookie phenom back in March – something that made most of us shake our heads.

Nonetheless, the Cubs will soon have another experienced closer working within their bullpen when the time is right. Hopefully, he’s on board helping this squad make a serious push toward’s postseason baseball.

Here’s more from around the league:

‘Chicago Cubs: Will James Shields find himself on the North Side?‘ – Cubbies Crib

‘#AstrosChat – Johnny Cueto, David Price and Beyond‘ – Climbing Tal’s Hill

‘Are You Frustrated Cleveland Indians’ Fans?‘ – Wahoo’s On First

‘Three Things to Look For From the Dodgers in the Second Half‘ – Lasorda’s Lair

‘5 Mariners that Need to Step Up in the 2nd Half’ – SoDo Mojo

Next: Kyle Schwarber Being Called Up Friday