Hayden Wesneski looked for an open breakfast spot Monday morning, his choices scarce on Labor Day in Jacksonville, Fla.
Wesneski and his Triple-A Iowa teammates had the day without work, and with all over the place seemingly closed for the vacation, he needed to accept shopping for breakfast in a gasoline station. Before he might full the transaction, a name got here by way of from Iowa supervisor Marty Pevey, who knowledgeable Wesneski the Cubs known as him up.
“Breakfast went out the window as I was trying to figure out what to do,” Wesneski stated Tuesday. “I teared up a little bit, I mean I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to hide it, but it was really cool.”
After receiving the decision, Wesneski nearly known as Pevey again to double-check he was certainly becoming a member of the Cubs.
“I hadn’t gotten many texts from the big-league side, and I told my dad, ‘I think I got called up?’” Wesneski stated. “I wasn’t sure, like, I haven’t got any text messages. He goes, ‘Well, I can’t tell anybody that until you figure it out for real.’”
Everything turned actual for Wesneski on Tuesday when he arrived at Wrigley Field and placed on his dwelling pinstripes together with his identify and No. 19 emblazoned on his again. He anticipated to have 15 to twenty folks on the ballpark for the collection opener towards the Cincinnati Reds, although his mother and father weren’t in a position to make it as a result of his mom is sick.
Wesneski’s arrival felt inevitable by the top of the season after the Cubs acquired the 24-year-old from the New York Yankees earlier than the commerce deadline for reliever Scott Effross. Wesneski’s eligibility to be chosen within the Rule 5 draft this offseason if the Cubs didn’t add him to the 40-man roster, mixed together with his efficiency in his final 4 outings for Iowa (2.37 ERA and .143 common towards in 19 innings), led to this chance.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer stated Wesneski’s efficiency at Triple A was what the Cubs anticipated apart from a tough first begin (eight runs in 1⅔ innings).
“Since then he really stabilized and his stuff is real,” Hoyer stated Tuesday. “Velocity has ticked up. Obviously his slider’s really good. He’s been really tough on righties. He’s going to go on the 40-man roster this winter and we were talking about the right time to bring them up, so this felt like it.”
Wesneski is considered as a big-league starter, however his first style of the majors got here out of the bullpen. He relieved Wade Miley to start the fifth inning Tuesday and pitched a scoreless inning with a stroll and two strikeouts.
Wesneski is the fifteenth Cubs participant to make his major-league debut this season.
That follows the trail the Cubs utilized for Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson final season earlier than they transitioned again into the big-league rotation. Wesneski’s final look for Iowa on Aug. 31 was a five-inning aid stint.
The Cubs advised Wesneski a number of days in the past they needed to make use of him out of the bullpen to assist management his innings.
“They just want to give me options,” Wesneski stated. “We’ll see how it goes the rest of the year. I mean, we still have a month to get to work, but for now I’m out of the pen. That’s fine. I’ve done it before and we’ll figure it out.”
Hoyer didn’t decide to the Cubs wanting to have a look at Wesneski in a beginning function in some unspecified time in the future over the ultimate 4 weeks. He cited the well being of the Cubs’ different starters as a think about that call.
“Honestly, I could easily see that, but we’ll kind of take it game by game,” Hoyer stated. “We’ll start him in the bullpen and you could easily see a scenario where that happens. But we’re not going to force that.”
The uncertainty of Steele’s and Thompson’s availability figures to play a component in that call. Both pitchers are on the 15-day injured record, Steele with a low again pressure and Thompson with low again tightness. Steele landed on the IL on Monday after he nonetheless didn’t really feel proper when throwing a bullpen session over the weekend in St. Louis.
The Cubs received’t rush both pitcher to return earlier than the top of the season. Steele already has pitched essentially the most innings (119) in a season throughout his skilled profession, whereas Thompson, at 104⅓ innings, is 25⅔ from surpassing his profession excessive.
Ideally, each would get in additional work earlier than the season ends Oct. 5 in Cincinnati, however the Cubs received’t power the scenario. The focus stays on ensuring they’re utterly wholesome heading into the offseason. Hoyer isn’t nervous about Steele’s or Thompson’s again accidents.
“I’d love to have them come back, but we’re not going to force it,” Hoyer stated. “I imply, if it feels pure and simple, they will ramp again up and get again to the extent they’re pitching at, we’ll do it. But we’re not going to power it if there’s any trepidation in any respect.
“The concern has to be getting those guys into the offseason healthy and ready to start their offseason conditioning. Both guys have real goals this offseason they want to reach.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com