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Genesis Cabrera’s latest outing was so bad Cubs made an instant move

Jordan Campbell
Jordan Campbell

Cubbies Crib

Seattle Mariners v Chicago Cubs / Matt Dirksen/GettyImages

The Genesis Cabrera experiment for the Chicago Cubs had come to a sudden end. As the Cubs were shuffling their bullpen pieces last month, the team added Cabrera on a Major League deal after he was designated for assignment by the New York Mets. As the third left-hander in the Cubs' bullpen, it seemed that Cabrera wouldn't be long for the Cubs' roster. After a brutal appearance against the Seattle Mariners on Friday, the Cubs wasted no time in making a roster move.

The Cubs announced on Saturday that Cabrera has been designated for assignment, and Nate Pearson has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa.

Genesis Cabrera’s Cubs future ends fast after ugly outing

Cabrera's last appearance with the Cubs was a disaster after he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in an inning of work during the team's 9-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Sporting an ERA over 8 during his time with the Cubs, it quickly became clear that Cabrera wouldn't be long for the roster once the pitching staff got healthy.

Along those lines, we mentioned that Cabrera would be the odd man out once Porter Hodge returned from the IL. Hodge, however, struggled in his rehab outing with the Iowa Cubs on Friday. Had Hodge not struggled, there's a chance that he would have been activated today instead of the team recalling Nate Pearson. And to quickly answer the question of why the Cubs did not bring up another lefty, such as Luke Little, the two lefties the Cubs already have in their bullpen--Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz--have thrived this season.

Pearson has the fastball that makes him a desirable arm to have in the bullpen. The issue is that Pearson has been prone to giving up hard contact. In his previous stint on the Major League roster this season, Pearson had an ERA of 10.38 through 8 appearances. With the Iowa Cubs this season, Pearson posted a 2.22 ERA through 19 appearances. Short of Hodge suffering a setback, chances are he will take Pearson's spot in the bullpen within the next week.

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Jordan Campbell

Jordan Campbell

For nearly 15 years, Jordan has been a workhorse across the FanSided network - including being the inaugural site expert for Cubbies Crib, as well as a stop at Da Windy City as the site expert. In addition to returning to be a Co-Site Expert at Cubbies Crib, Jordan was previously the Site Expert at Bear Goggles On. In the years since, Jordan has joined FanSided's full-time team, serving as a staff writer for the MLB division. Jordan's work can be seen across the MLB division, including a consistent presence on our Cubs, Twins, Astros, and Tigers sites. Since 2010, Jordan has dedicated his craft to providing insightful commentary on all things Chicago sports, and he has enjoyed his venture into all things Major League Baseball.