Cubs call up Little for some lefty relief
Prospect Luke Little felt nervous when Triple-A Iowa hitting coach John Mallee told him to go to the manager’s office.
“I was a little scared when I got in there, and the pitching coach [Ron Villone] came in and kind of joked with me a little bit,” said Little, whom the Cubs called up Wednesday. “He said that Tennessee was in a playoff race and that I got to go to the big leagues instead.’’
The Cubs designated veteran pitcher Shane Greene for assignment.
Little has pitched primarily out of the bullpen this year with a 2.12 ERA across three minor-league levels. The converted starter threw back-to-back games at Iowa last week and adds another left-handed option to the bullpen.
“We’ll use him as needed, in the pockets that we identify in the game situation that calls for it,” manager David Ross said before the Cubs’ 8-2 victory over the Giants.
“I think the main thing is he’s throwing the ball really well. We’ve been looking for a lefty for a while now, and we are going to give him an opportunity to see what he can do.”
Ross said it’s key that the organization has developed Little to the point where he’s an option out of the bullpen. MLB Pipeline ranked the Cubs fourth in its midseason farm-system rankings, with two pitchers — Cade Horton and Ben Brown — being top-100 prospects.
Little said he hasn’t had any conversations about his role but that he’s ready to help the Cubs, who hold the second wildcard spot in the National League.
“It’s a little bit of an adjustment, but I’ve got to go out and do my job as a baseball player,” Little said.
“I’ve got to throw to the best of my ability, and, obviously, it’s intensified because we’re in a playoff race.”
Canario debuts
Outfield prospect Alexander Canario made his major-league debut against the
Giants, who traded him and pitcher Caleb Kilian to the Cubs for Kris Bryant in 2021.
Canario had the second-most home runs in the minors last season (37).
After recovering from offseason ankle and shoulder injuries, Canario hit eight home runs with a .276 batting average at Iowa.
He worked a full count but struck out against Giants right-hander Camilo Doval in his first major-league at-bat on a 97.2 mph cutter.
“We talked about the soft landings of getting a pitcher,’’ Ross said. ‘‘I didn’t really do that for Alexander today, you know, facing the closer.
‘‘That’s not the best, softest landing I could give him, but he had a really good at-bat.”
Bullpen update
Closer Adbert Alzolay hasn’t pitched since Friday, and Ross said he’s dealing with
a minor injury.
“Everybody’s dealing with something this time of the year, and you give guys days off or you can try to rest them and stay away from them,” Ross said. ‘‘When guys are dealing with stuff, you’ve just got to give them a little bit of rest. Sometimes four days is better than 15.”
This and that
Reliever Michael Fulmer (strained right forearm) was scheduled to throw a light bullpen session Wednesday.
† The Cubs have a run differential of plus-101, higher than the plus-81 run differential of the 2015 team that went 97-65.
† Left-hander Jordan Wicks became the first Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 to win three consecutive starts to begin his career.