Well, as we speculated earlier the Cubs needed to replace someone in the bullpen as Trey Wingenter was spotted at Wrigley Field today and the answer is indeed veteran Jorge Lopez.
Unfortunately, the lasting memory for some Cubs fans when it comes to Lopez will be the pair of home runs he gave up Monday night, when he blew a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lopez missed a week at the end of August, as he was dealing with a groin issue. He wasn’t placed on the injured list then, but after his latest outing Lopez will be sidelined for a couple weeks with that groin injury.
The Cubs picked up Lopez a few months ago after the New York Mets released the 31-year-old reliever. Following a couple weeks in the Cubs minor league system, Lopez was called up to the majors and then went on an insane run out of the bullpen.
From June 28 through Aug. 31, Lopez recorded a 0.79 ERA in 23.2 innings. He had 26 strikeouts to 8 walks, only gave up one home run and a total of two earned runs in his first 21 appearances with the Cubs. Then, Monday night happened. A real shame.
The Cubs will now turn to another in-season pickup in the form of 30-year-old Trey Wingenter. He certainly has some potential, posting awesome strikeout numbers throughout his minor league career, but just has not found that last piece to put it all together in the big leagues. The Cubs acquired Wingenter from the Boston Red Sox, claiming the righty reliever off waivers in early August.
(Previous Update)
The first thing you automatically think of when you see a picture of a new face arriving at Wrigley Field is, great who’s going on the injured list now, and that’s exactly the case on Wednesday. Right-handed pitcher Trey Wingenter was spotted with his gear, arriving at the players’ entrance at Wrigley Field this afternoon and now we wait to see who the reliever is replacing on the roster.
The mind immediately goes to Justin Steele, who was scratched from his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates this week because of pain in his pitching elbow. While the Cubs remain confident that Steele will pitch again in 2024, there’s also the reality that the lefty could miss at least one more start despite the fact that his MRI results were generally seen as positive.
Nevertheless, Wingenter does appear ready to make his Cubs debut.
Fingers crossed that it’s not Steele going on the injured list and if that’s the case, then I wouldn’t be surprised if either one of Jorge Lopez or Tyson Miller is the bullpen arm needing to be replaced.
Lopez had a disastrous outing Monday night against the Pirates in what was only his second appearance since Aug. 23. The veteran righty missed a week action as he was dealing with a groin issue. Maybe that issue popped up again this past week, when Lopez came in to protect a 3-0 lead and allowed a pair of home runs that led to a Pirates win over the Cubs.
As for Miller, he’s been a bit shaky in his last few outings, giving up three earned runs Tuesday night against the Pirates and was only able to record one out against the Washington Nationals last Friday night, when he was charged with three earned runs as well. Maybe Miller is dealing with something in his first full year as a major league reliever.
The Cubs picked up Wingenter off waivers from the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 2. The right-hander is intimidating on the mound, coming at hitters with his 6-foot-7 frame, dealing a fastball in the upper 90s with a nasty slider behind it. The 30-year-old has had brief stints in the majors, first making his MLB debut with the San Diego Padres in 2019. He had 72 strikeouts in 51 innings, which was great, but had some tough luck because although batters only hit .187 against him, Wingenter still allowed a 5.65 ERA over 51 appearances.
Wingenter then made it up back up with the Detroit Tigers in 2023, but only tossed 17 innings. He then made two appearances with the Red Sox this year before the Cubs scooped him up a month ago. In 9.2 innings with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A, Wingenter had a 2.79 ERA with 16 strikeouts.
