Looks Like the Cubs Are Adding a Power Bat Back to Roster

The Chicago Cubs started the regular season without right-handed slugger Patrick Wisdom, who began the year on the injured list because of a back strain. Well, after tearing up Triple-A during his rehab stint, it looks like the Cubs are adding Wisdom’s power bat back to the roster.

Wisdom started Wednesday afternoon’s Iowa Cubs game at third base and had two plate appearances, a walk and then a double. Wisdom was taken out of the game in the fourth inning.

According to Iowa Cubs beat reporter Tommy Birch, it does not appear that Wisdom was lifted because of an injury, which signals a return to the Cubs.

Chicago ends its three-city road trip on Wednesday and returns back to Wrigley Field on Thursday for the start of a four-game series against the Miami Marlins.

Including Wednesday’s game, Wisdom is batting .407 at Triple-A, going 11-for-27 at the plate with 3 home runs and 4 doubles.

Wisdom had an up and down 2023 season with the Cubs, coming out hot in April, but then slowly coming back to Earth in May and then completely tanking in June. However, you could argue that Wisdom’s right wrist sprain that sidelined him for a few weeks may have been the main culprit to his awful slump.

After returning from the injured list in early July, Wisdom finished the 2023 season with a slash line of .226/.298/.571, adding 9 home runs in 94 plate appearances. That was good enough for a 128 wRC+.

We know what Wisdom can provide. He’s a power bat that can get hot and as long as he’s used in favorable matchups Wisdom is a legit threat in your lineup.

So, the question now is who will the Cubs get rid of from their 26-man roster to make room for Wisdom? You have to imagine it’s one of the infielders, which would be one of Miles Mastrobuoni, Nick Madrigal or Garrett Cooper. I guess you could include Alexander Canario in this conversation, but I would hope the Cubs would keep him up and find ways to get him starts with Seiya Suzuki on the injured list and out for four weeks with his oblique strain.

It’s tough to really pin down the odd-man out because Mastrobuonui, Madrigal and Garrett haven’t really played much in the first three weeks of the season. Cooper has gotten the most playing time out of the trio and has hit, going 8-for-23, with a home run, triple and double. He has struck out seven times, while adding two walks in 25 plate appearances.

If Wisdom is coming back he can fill in as the right-handed DH bat or be the backup third baseman, while also giving Counsell an option to play the corner outfield spots. I think the safe bet is Mastrobuoni getting demoted. We’ll see what the move is after the Cubs come back from Arizona.