Cubs call up unheard of lefty reliever as Hunter Harvey hits the injured list

With Cade Horton done for the year, Justin Steele still working toward his late May/early June return to the team and Matthew Boyd and Phil Maton sidelined, the last thing the Chicago Cubs needed was another injury, but that's exactly what they got on Sunday ahead of the series finale against the Pirates.

Chicago placed right-hander Hunter Harvey on the 15-day injured list with triceps inflammation (retroactive to April 9) and selected the contract of left-hander Charlie Barnes, a 30-year-old former fourth-round pick out of Clemson.

Harvey has been ineffective in his brief Cubs tenure, allowing a ton of hard contact despite a fastball that's averaged in the mid-to-upper 90s. Opponents have had no problem with that pitch, so the hope is an IL stint will help him get things sorted out and he can add a shot in the arm to the pen later this month.

Charlie Barnes is still looking for his first real big-league success

Let's focus on Barnes, though, so you know what to expect when he makes his first big-league appearance since 2021. Frankly, this feels like a longshot to work well for the Cubs given his complete lack of effectiveness at either the MLB or Triple-A level in his career. He had a solid multi-year run overseas and pitched well in the Dominican Winter League last winter, but the stuff just hasn't translated at the highest level.

He's primarily been a starter in his US career (just 13 of his of his 241 professional appearances have come out of the bullpen), but it looks like he's ticketed for the pen. Barnes has a pretty standard arsenal, including a four-seamer, change-up and slider, and he's sprinkled in a curve at times.

Prior to his call-up, Barnes made three appearances with Iowa, including a start, and was sharp, working to a 2.38 ERA with 14 punchouts in 11 1/3 innings of work. Hopefully, that translates well for him, because this is a team that's looking for a lot of answers right now.