Chicago Cubs Make Multiple Roster Moves Following More Pitching Injuries

The roster turnstile continues for the Chicago Cubs after more injuries to contributing players were announced.

Apr 15, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell looks on / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have had a tough time with injuries to start their 2024 season.

Expected contributors like Patrick Wisdom and Jameson Taillon were placed on the injured list in Spring Training. Justin Steele joined them after Opening Day. So did reliever Julian Merryweather and rising star Seiya Suzuki.

That has created a rotating cast of players coming in and out of the roster, something that is difficult for any team to deal with.

Once Wisdom and Taillon returned, the Cubs were hoping they could put some of these issues behind them.

However, that is far from the case.

Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reported all the moves Chicago made after the newest changes to their roster.

#Cubs Roster Moves:
-Matt Mervis, Hayden Wesneski and Luke Little recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
-Garrett Cooper DFA’d.
-Drew Smyly placed on 15-day IL with right hip impingement.
-Kyle Hendricks placed on the 15-day IL with a lower back injury.

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) April 23, 2024

It was already known that Matt Mervis was getting called up to replaced Garrett Cooper who they designated for assignment, but more moves were expected after it was also revealed pitcher Hayden Wesneski got the call as well.

Veterans Drew Smyly and Kyle Hendricks will now miss time with stints on the 15-day injured list.

Both players have been battling performance issues this year with Smyly having a 4.97 ERA over his nine relief appearances and Hendricks sitting with a brutal 12.00 ERA through five starts.

The Cubs will now turn back to Wesneski who was featured in 34 games and 11 starts during 2023, but bounced between their MLB roster and Triple-A due to inconsistency.

He's appeared in one game for Chicago this year and showed well, going four innings without allowing a run and only giving up one hit, but was sent back down to the minors.

Luke Little getting called back up is the least surprising bit of news.

The former top prospect made their Opening Day roster out of camp and started off the season very strong before running into some issues.

Now, he'll get another opportunity to show that he can become a staple in their bullpen and provide stability to a unit that has had their struggles throughout the year.