We’ve seen this drill enough to know what it means, at least generally speaking.
The f﷽irst step is that the magnificent fan photographer Sam Bernero snaps a pic of a player 🦄arriving at Wrigley Field:
The next step is that the player is activated💧 before game time, with some other player being shuffled out✃ or onto the Injured List.
So, then, we can expect that big righty Trey Wingenter will be on the roster for tonight’s game against the Pirates, and someone else will not be. Is Justin Steele hitting the Injured List? Even if so, Craig Counsell has indicated that he doesn’t think Steele’s season is over. It might just be a start or two missed.
Or is it someone else who is injured? Is someo⛎ne being optioned out?
Whoever it is, h♒opefullꦿy Wingenter does a good job in his stead.
If you forgot about Trey Wingenter’s arrival into the Cubs’ organization, I wouldn’t blame you. The waiver claim flew a bit under the radar in the flurry of the Trade Deadline period, and we haven’t discussed him much since.
Wingenter, a 6’7″ 30-year-old righty who throws in the upper-90s with a nasty slider, has seen Major League action over the last several years with the Padres, Tigers, and Red Sox, pretty much always being one of those guys who was a tweak and an opportunity away from sticking in the big leagues. With the Cubs at Triple-A Iowa, he’s thrown 9.2 innings of 2.79 ERA ball, striking out 42.1% of the batters he’s faced, while walking just 7.9%. The sample is small, and he’s an experienced big leaguer pitching in the minors, but it’s been pretty dominant.
For that reason, and because Wingenter is controllable through arbitration if the Cubs wanted to keep him this offseason, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to call him up right now regardless. The Cubs have a whole lot of pitching decisions to make in October and November, and having a little more information on a guy who has long shown serious potential could be useful.
I just hope it isn’t coming because someone else is seriously injured. We’ll find out soon enough.
