After Ben Brown’s disastrous outing Monday, it seemed likely he’d be sent to Triple-A Iowa to work on his craft in a lower-pressure environment.
Tuesday afternoon, the Cubs announced that Brown had been optioned to Iowa and righthander Porter Hodge was activated from the 15-day injured list.
Hodge posted two saves, six holds and a 5.12 ERA in 21 relief appearances prior to being placed on the injured list May 18 with a left oblique strain. At the time of his IL placement, he led Cubs relievers in games and was second in innings pitched and miss rate (26.3%). This was the first IL stint of Hodge’s MLB career.
Brown has a 4-6 W-L record with a 6.13 ERA in 16 games, including 14 starts, with the Cubs this season. Hopefully he can get things straightened out and re-join the Cubs later this season.
When Shōta Imanaga is activated to start Thursday’s game, the Cubs will need to make another pitching roster move. For Tuesday and Wednesday, the Cubs will have nine relievers available.