Cubs add Strop, Wieck, Steele to active roster originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
About an hour before Monday’s first pitch against the Brewers, the Cubs announced the additions of three pitchers to the active roster.
Right-hander Pedro Strop, and lefties Brad Wieck and Justin Steele, will join the club in Milwaukee.
The series of moves came shortly after the club placed relievers Jason Adam, Dan Winkler and Brandon Workman on the COVID-19 related injured list.
Strop was selected as a replacement player from the South Bend alternate site, while Wieck and Steele were recalled from South Bend.
According to MLB’s 2021 operations manual, clubs are permitted to temporarily add players to the active roster in the event they experience “a significant number of COVID-19 IL placements.”
Meaning, the Cubs don’t have to make any 40-man roster moves with Adam, Winkler and Workman — or Strop, who, unlike Wieck and Steele, isn’t on the 40-man.
Strop, 35, rejoined the Cubs on a minor-league deal in late February. The longtime Cub spent seven years with the Cubs (2013-19) before signing with the Reds in free agency during the 2019-20 offseason.
Strop is one of the best relievers in Cubs history, holding a career 2.90 ERA in 411 appearances on the North Side.
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He missed a few days in spring training quarantining after violating MLB's health and safety protocols.
Wieck, 29, came over from the Padres at the 2019 trade deadline and pitched well in 14 appearances with the Cubs that season (3.60 ERA). He missed most of the 2020 season with hamstring and knee injuries, experiencing a setback to that hamstring early this spring training.
Wieck returned to make five spring appearances, allowing one earned run in five innings.
Steele, 25, hasn’t made his MLB debut yet, although the Cubs briefly recalled him last season (he didn’t appear in a game). He’s been considered one of the Cubs’ top 30 prospects in recent seasons.
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