Right-hander Jeremiah Estrada, one of the Cubs' replacement pitchers for players banned from Canada this week for not being vaxed, impressed enough in his big-league debut Tuesday to earn an extended look with the club as rosters expanded Thursday to 28 for September.
The other addition to roster for the final weeks was infielder David Bote, who was recalled after a four-week demotion to Triple-A Iowa.
Starting pitchers Justin Steele and Adrian Sampson, were reinstated from the restricted list after their anti-vax bans from Canada. The Cubs finished their three-game series in Toronto on Wednesday and take Thursday off before opening a three-game series in St. Louis.
Estrada and Brendon Little, both 2017 draft picks, joined the team in the bullpen for the Toronto series (both eligible despite not being on the 40-man roster because of the COVID-protocol-related circumstances.
Little was returned to Iowa as part of Thursday's series of moves.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Estrada, the club transferred left-hander Wade Miley (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list.
Estrada pitched a scoreless inning in Tuesday's debut, striking out Teoscar Hernández and Danny Jansen.
MLB roster rules have changed in recent seasons, with current rules allotting 26 spots on the active roster through August and requiring 28 after that (a change from the longstanding rule of as many as a team wanted to carry between 25 and the entirety of its 40-man roster). Only half of the roster in either case may be made up of pitchers.