Caleb Kilian adds a much-needed arm for the Chicago Cubs in New York

The Chicago Cubs have recalled Caleb Kilian from Iowa in favor of Anthony Kay and that could be a vital roster move given the state of the bullpen. With their best arms exhausted from a thrilling series victory over the Atlanta Braves, the Cubbies need someone that can eat some innings against the Mets. Kilian should provide a similar presence as Hayden Wesneski earlier this season in relief of Drew Smyly on Monday night.

Michael Fulmer, Adbert Alzolay, Mark Leiter Jr., and Javier Assad were tremendous over the weekend but they could certainly use some rest. Even with an off day scheduled for Thursday, the bullpen has been pushed to the limits after a handful of short stars from the rotation lately. Caleb Kilian's promotion gives David Ross a guy that can eat some innings after a nice stretch down in Iowa over the past month or so.

Over his past five appearances with the AAA club, Kilian has posted a 2.81 ERA over 25.1 innings. He also struck out 22 and walked just six in that span, which included a relief appearance back on July 4. In 4.1 innings of relief that day, Kilian allowed just one hit and struck out three while facing 14 batters.

While Kilian has had some rough outings in the Major Leagues so far in his young career, this is a chance to turn things around and help out the club in a massive way. If he can step in during the middle innings and eat some outs for the bullpen, that will set the table for another strong run from the Cubs.

Iowa has done a good job of managing Kilian's innings and preparing him for this type of situation. He has consistently tossed 5-6 innings per outing and has cut down on the walks and mistakes since the beginning of the season. Another huge win for the 26-year-old is that he's allowed just one long ball over his last 37 innings. That run, which stretches over seven appearances, has seen Kilian allow a .215 BAA and a .565 OPA while rocking a 2.43 ERA.

After refining his stuff down in Iowa, Kilian is ready to contribute to a red-hot Cubs team. If Ross does give him a chance to eat innings against the Mets, he will be entering a very favorable situation. The Mets have dropped six straight games and have scored just 14 runs over those six games. On Sunday in Baltimore, Orioles pitchers held the Mets to four hits and shut them out on the scoreboard.

The Mets rank in the bottom 10 in MLB in team batting average, OPS, and hits. This is the perfect scenario to get Kilian re-acclimated to the big leagues and if it all goes well, the Cubs will be set up for a few weeks.

Chicago is in a bit of an interesting spot in terms of their schedule this week. They travel north of the border to take on the Blue Jays this weekend following this series with the Mets but then the schedule really favors the Cubs. They get 12 games against the White Sox, Royals, Tigers, and Pirates as they chase the Brewers for the NL Central.

The Blue Jays are by far the most threatening team in their path so having a complete bullpen is a must for that three-game set. This is just another chance for the Cubs to make a statement but it starts on Monday in New York.

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