PITTSBURGH – The Cubs made good use of the extra roster flexibility Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association granted at the start of the season. It helped them weather a spike of injuries, which has hit their rotation especially hard lately.
On Monday, however, the 13-pitcher roster limit went into effect. The Cubs optioned right-hander Adrian Sampson to Triple-A Iowa to comply, and they recalled outfielder Nelson Velázquez.
Sampson threw 4 u2154 shutout innings against the Braves on Sunday, after Kyle Hendricks’ short start in a 6-0 loss.
“The conversation with Sampson was extremely difficult,” Cubs manager Davis Ross said Monday.