The Chicago Cubs have added a trio of pitching prospects to the 40-man roster.
Ahead of Tuesday’s deadline to protect eligible minor leaguers from the Rule 5 draft in December, Triple-A Iowa left-hander Bailey Horn, Double-A Tennessee right-hander Porter Hodge and High-A South Bend right-hander Michael Arias were put on the Cubs’ 40-man roster.
The moves filled the remaining open spots as free agency gets underway.
Horn spent six games at Double A to start the season before moving up to Triple A in April. He saw action in 39 games as a reliever for Iowa, posting a 4.58 ERA in 53 innings pitched. Horn, 25, was selected by the White Sox in the fifth round of the 2020 draft out of Auburn. The Cubs acquired him from the Sox ahead of the 2021 trade deadline for reliever Ryan Tepera.
Hodge spent the full 2023 season with Double A, earning a 5.13 ERA in 35 games, including 12 starts as he primarily pitched out of the bullpen for the first time in his career. Drafted by the Cubs in the 13th round in 2019, Hodge, 22, continues to lower his strikeout-to-walk ratio year-over-year, posting a 2.10 K/BB last season. He led Double A with 0.33 home runs per 9.0 innings (min. 80 innings) while his 11.5 strikeouts per 9.0 innings ranked ninth.
Arias features tremendous upside, reflected in the decision to give the 21-year-old a 40-man spot despite not reaching above High A. A scout outside the organization raved about him to the Tribune over the summer, describing an electric pitch mix with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball that has hard cut and sink, a slider that generates a lot of chase while his changeup showed it could be a plus pitch.
In 22 games between Low-A Myrtle Beach and South Bend in 2023 Arias owned a 4.09 ERA and 110 strikeouts. Originally signed as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018, the Cubs signed him in January 2021.
The Rule 5 draft will take place on Dec. 6 during the MLB winter meetings in Nashville.
Craig Counsell and David Ross earn NL manager of the year votes
It’s the annual award week in Major League Baseball, and the manager of the year winner in each league was revealed Tuesday.
Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde took home the American League manager of the year award and first-year Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker received the National League honor. Hyde spent five seasons with the Cubs as their bench coach (2014, 2018) and first base coach (2015-2017).
Craig Counsell finished second in NL manager voting with five first-place votes for leading the 92-win Milwaukee Brewers to the division title. His 51 points from landing on 27 of the 30 ballots put him just ahead of Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker and his 48 points, which included eight first-place votes that matched Schumaker’s.
Counsell, who has never won the award, finished second for the fourth time, which ties him with Tony La Russa for the most in NL voting. Counsell was also the NL runner-up in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Former Cubs manager David Ross appeared on one ballot, earning a second-place vote.
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