The Cubs are staring two incredibly tough roster decisions dead in the eye

The Chicago Cubs are going to get some much-needed pitching reinforcements very soon, but there isn't much room on the active roster.

Shota Imanaga and Porter Hodge, the team's ace and main setup man, are nearing returns from their respective injuries. Imanaga has already made two scoreless rehab starts in the minor leagues. During an interview with 670 the Score on Tuesday, team President Jed Hoyer said Imanaga is scheduled to make a third start with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on June 20. If that outing goes well, Hoyer said the team will reevaluate Imanaga's return from his hamstring injury, which he said the team is not eager to rush if they don't have to.

But it sounds like the Cubs' ace could be back by the end of June, meaning someone will get booted out of the current rotation. The most likely candidates are rookie Cade Horton and Ben Brown. Horton sports a 3.47 ERA in his first seven games, and the 23-year-old has looked more comfortable and capable than Brown in recent weeks.

Although Brown is generating a lot of strikeouts (10.77 K/9), the right-hander has been very inconsistent this year. During a recent outing against the Phillies, Brown surrendered six earned runs as the team took a loss. This was the fifth game this season where Brown allowed the opposing team to score at least five earned runs against him, and his season-ERA sits at a precarious 5.71 through his first 14 appearances (12 starts). Since Brown still has two minor league options left, it would make sense to send him back to Iowa to refine his approach when Imanaga comes back.

Porter Hodge returns to a very crowded Cubs' bullpen picture

Hodge's return is a bit more complicated. Barring an injury, there isn't a clear answer to who the Cubs should move out to give Hodge a spot. The only pitcher in the current bullpen who has minor league options is Daniel Palencia, who has collected six saves and posted a 1.73 ERA in his first 24 games this year. Since Palencia has become the team's de facto closer, it would be shocking if the Cubs sent him back to Triple-A.

The rest of the pen has also been dominant, and the group is leading the league in ERA since May 6 (2.01). Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar have carved out high-leverage roles. Chris Flexen has a 0.00 ERA in 11 games this year, Ryan Brasier has been solid since his return, and Genesis Cabrera is signed to a major league deal.

Cabrera and Ryan Pressly can arguably be considered the most vulnerable members of the bullpen. After struggling early in the year and getting demoted as the closer, Pressly has settled in and turned in 14 straight scoreless outings since his May 6 blowup. Cabrera seems like the most obvious candidate for a DFA since he is the newest member of the team and hasn't gotten much high-leverage work. But that is mostly becuase there are so many other options for the high leverage spots.

Another scenario could see the Cubs simply option Hodge to Iowa and give him time to get his groove back until someone on the big leauge roster goes down with an injury. This coudl avoid having to DFA someone who doesn't really deserve it right now and give the team even more bullpen depth moving forward.