Cubs make flurry of roster moves

 Prior to the start of tonights three game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates the Cubs made a bunch of roster moves to accommodate for four trades and two players activated from the injured list.

In total the Cubs added Jose Martinez, Kris Bryant, Steven Souza Jr, and Cameron Maybin to the active roster. To make room for them the Cubs have optioned Albert Almora Jr, Tyler Chatwood is on the injured list with a right forearm strain, and Casey Sadler has been designated for assignment. Andrew Chafin remains on the injured list

It's a really frustrating turn for Almora who just hasn't turned into the player the Cubs have hoped he could be. In 34 plate appearances he is hitting .167/.265/.200 along with nine strikeouts and one extra base hit. His approach at the plate just hasn't shown any growth.  His 57.1 percent ground ball rate is way too high and his 85.3 MPH average exit velocity didn't paint any sort of positive picture for the future. Ultimately his defense hasn't been good enough to make up for his complete lack of offense and his speed isn't even good enough that he can be an effective pinch runner. It's possible Almora is a really strong non-tender candidate this offseason.

Chatwood was pulled from his start Sunday against the Reds after calling for the trainer when he spiked a pitch to Joey Votto. Although not much is known about the severity of the injury if this turns out to the last start of Chatwoods time with the Cubs it would be an incredibly disappointing finish. He showed promise at time this year especially in his first two starts, but his last three starts saw a complete regression in his command and ability to miss bats. Overall he has a 5.30 ERA (3.29 FIP) in 18.2 innings along with 25 strikeouts and nine walks.

Sadler was an offseason acquisition from the Dodgers and just hasn't been able to put it all together. In nine and a third innings pitched he has posted a 5.79 ERA giving up six earned runs thanks to two home runs and eight walks surrendered. He only threw 40.6 percent of his pitches in the zone, and when he allowed contact it was hit hard with a 30.8 percent line drive rate.