The North Siders' bullpen reinforcements move one step closer to Chicago as both veteran made their Triple-A Iowa debut.
The Chicago Cubs could promote a couple of veterans to the big league roster in the next couple of weeks.
Both Aaron Bummer and Liam Hendriks made their Iowa Cubs debut on Wednesday. After both veterans pitched for the ACL Cubs last week, the North Siders recently promoted both to the Triple-A level as part of their ramp-up process.
Bummer pitched the bottom of the sixth inning in Wednesday’s game. He allowed one run across one inning, and the only damage against him came on a solo home run from Tigers prospect Eduardo Valencia.
The southpaw had Valencia in a 2-2 count before deciding to go to his curveball to punch him out. But his curveball stayed up a bit, and the first baseman got a hold of it for a 363-foot home run.
Outside of that pitch, Bummer threw the ball well in his first Triple-A appearance.
Hendriks then got the ball in the bottom of the seventh inning. He struck out the first batter he faced on a beautifully placed slider inside, and struck out another batter on that slider outside the zone a few hitters later.
The slider was definitely working for Hendriks in this outing, as he induced four whiffs on that pitch alone. The three-time All-Star threw one scoreless inning with one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts in his first Triple-A appearance with the Cubs.
The Cubs signed both Bummer and Hendriks to Minor League deals earlier this season. Bummer was picked up by the North Siders after being released by the Braves on May 19, while Hendriks was signed on May 16 after opting out of his deal with the Twins before the regular season.
Bummer spent around three weeks down at the Cubs’ Spring Training complex before appearing in a game. He eventually appeared in two games for the ACL Cubs on June 20 and June 26, throwing two scoreless innings with two hits and three strikeouts.
As for Hendriks, he spent roughly five weeks down at the Spring Training complex before appearing in a game. His first appearance in the organization came with the ACL Cubs, when he threw one scoreless inning with two strikeouts on June 26.
Following both of their outings with the ACL Cubs on June 26, the Cubs decided to move up Bummer and Hendriks to the Triple-A level. That means both could be promoted to the active roster within the next few weeks.
Chicago might want to see a couple more relief appearances from both veterans with the Iowa Cubs before calling them up. However, Bummer and Hendriks should get their chance again in the big leagues in the near future.
