The Chicago Cubs have activated left-handed starter Justin Steele ahead of Saturday afternoon's game at Wrigley Field against the Baltimore Orioles, sending third baseman Patrick Wisdom to the 10-day injured list with a right wrist sprain in a corresponding roster move, the team announced.
Steele will be making his 13th start of the season on Saturday, returning from a short stint on the injured list with a left forearm strain.
Picking up from where he left off in 2022, Steele has had an excellent start to his third major league season, boasting a 6-2 record with a 2.65 ERA. Steele has fanned 58 hitters across 68.2 innings this year, walking just 16 batters.
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His 1.059 WHIP reveals a marked improvement over his still solid 2021 and 2022 efforts, where the metric was above 1.350 both seasons.
Reducing his hard hit rate against to a career-low 28%, Steele owes much of his success to his secondary weapon, a slider that hitters have managed a measly .188 batting average against in 2023.
On the other hand, Patrick Wisdom will head to the injured list for the first time this season, capping off a stretch of immense struggles for the Cubs slugger.
While still the club leader with 14 home runs, Wisdom's batting average has dropped below the Mendoza line, with an on-base percentage of just .285.
MLB
After a torrid start to the season, pitchers have found larger holes in Wisdom's uppercut stroke, leaving him with an astronomic strikeout rate of 38.9%.
Though he already saw his playing time reduced, Cubs fans can expect to see Miles Mastrobuoni, Nick Madrigal and Christopher Morel spend time at the hot corner in Wisdom's absence.
The Cubs, three games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, will go for their fifth straight win on Saturday against the Orioles.