The Cubs have placed 31-year old lefty reliever John Grabow on the 15-day disabled list with knee tendinitis. Grabow has pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA and a 2.15 WHIP. He has given up 32 hits (5 homers) and he has walked 11 batters in only 20 innings this year which is downright pathetic. The Cubs have called up 23 year old righty starter/reliever Andrew Cashner who was their #4 rated prospect heading into this year according to Baseball America. Cashner will work out of the pen for the Cubs. He has pitched in 11 games (9 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has only given up 39 hits in 57 innings this year while whiffing 59 batters. The Cubs have a big need in the bullpen and they hope that Casher is ready to rock from day #1.

The Cubs need to make a big splash to help the bullpen from the right side or the season is going to be a huge disappointment for them. With that in mind the Cubs need to make a call to the Blue Jays and bite the bullet offering outfielders Tyler Colvin and Sam Fuld for Jason Frasor, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Tallet and Jeremy Reed. I know that Colvin is a fan favorite right now but the Cubs can’t afford to wait to make a deal. Frasor, Accardo and Tallet would give the Cubs a lot of help in the bullpen the rest of the year and the Cubs should consider pulling the trigger on a deal like this sooner rather than later. The Cubs could then flip a minor prospect like outfielder James Adduci to the Indians for Austin Kearns who will fill in as Kosuke Fukudome’s new platoon partner in RF. The Cubs need to get into the groove by adding to the bullpen or they might be a seller at the trade deadline in July.

The Cubs have designated 26-year old righty reliever David Patton for assignment to make room on the roster for Bobby Howry. Patton pitched in 7 games (0 starts) in A-ball this season for the Cubs and he was 2-1 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Patton pitched in 20 games (0 starts) with the Cubs last year and he was 3-1 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. I don’t think the Cubs will miss Patton much if at all down the road.

The Cubs have signed 36-year old righty reliever Bobby Howry and he will be with the team starting tonight in Texas. Howry pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs this year before being released by them and he was 1-0 with a 10.67 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. He has now pitched in 745 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 45-49 with 66 saves, a 3.79 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. I know that Howry didn’t do much for the D-Backs but maybe a return to the Windy City will get him back on track. Giving Howry another chance was a good move for the Cubs whose bullpen stinks right now other than Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol.

27-year old righty closer Carlos Marmol has some of the nastiest stuff I have ever seen in my life. He has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 1-0 with 7 saves, a 1.31 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Marmol has only allowed 12 hits in 20 2/3 innings while whiffing an absolutely amazing 40 batters! His only problem has been his control as he has walked 12 batters this season but it’s damn hard to score without hitting the baseball.