The Cubs activated Edward Cabrera from the injured list on Sunday and put him back on the mound the same day, with the right-hander set to start against the Giants at Wrigley Field. To make room on the 26-man active roster, the club optioned Tyler Ferguson to Triple-A Iowa.
The move landed exactly when the Cubs needed it. Cabrera had missed two starts while on the injured list, and his return gives their rotation an immediate lift for a game that was already on the calendar. It also sends Ferguson back to Iowa just days after the Cubs recalled him Tuesday when they sent Jordan Wicks down.
Cabrera’s first outing back will be watched closely because the injury he is returning from was a blister, the same problem that forced him out on May 20 against the Brewers. That night, he threw three innings and allowed four runs, one earned, before leaving the game. Blisters have been part of his history, so the issue is not only whether he can pitch today, but whether he can stay on the mound long enough to give the Cubs the kind of start they need.
Before the setback, Cabrera had given Chicago 10 starts this season, working to a 4.00 ERA with a 1.352 WHIP, 47 strikeouts and 54 innings. Those are not front-line ace numbers, but they are the kind of innings the Cubs have been missing while he was out. Ferguson, meanwhile, did not get into a game against his former team after the Cubs acquired him from the A's on May 7.
For the Cubs, the equation is simple now: Cabrera is back, Ferguson is out, and the next test comes immediately against the Giants. What matters next is not the roster move itself, but whether Cabrera’s arm and the blister on it hold up once the game starts.
