Cubs sign former first-round pick, bolstering their pitching depth for September

On the heels of the Aaron Civale addition over the weekend, the Chicago Cubs continued to add pitching depth as the calendar turned to September, signing former first-rounder Joe Ross to a minor-league deal.

MLB.com has the deal dated 9/1, which would mean Ross is ineligible for the team's postseason roster - but it's a move that seems more geared toward the final month of the regular season than October. Ross made 37 appearances, all but one coming out of the Phillies' bullpen, this season, working to a 5.12 ERA and 4.88 FIP.

He's just one year removed from a bounce-back campaign in Milwaukee that followed a pair of seasons lost to Tommy John surgery. Ross racked up 74 innings for the Brewers, posting a 3.77 ERA and 41 percent ground ball rate for the NL Central champions.

Cubs' signing of Joe Ross gives the team another insurance policy arm

The 32-year-old gives Craig Counsell and the Cubs added depth as they look to finally kick the injury bug that's decimated the rotation this year before turning their attention to the postseason. After just two starts removed from an IL stint, Jameson Taillon once again hit the shelf, and is expected back in mid-September.

Chicago's lone pitching addition at the trade deadline, Michael Soroka, continues to ramp up and could be back around the same time as Taillon, and relievers Ryan Brasier and Eli Morgan are also working their way back from injuries. In the meantime, Javier Assad and Colin Rea round out the rotation behind Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton, holding down the fort until Taillon's late-season return.

Ross was the 25th overall pick of the San Diego Padres in 2011 and made his MLB debut four years later as a member of the Washington Nationals after coming to D.C. in the Trea Turner deal. His debut, funnily enough, came against the Cubs. He tossed five innings, allowing three earned on six hits and took the loss in the contest.