Eric Hosmer DFAd, Keegan Thompson Optioned as Cubs Make Flurry of Moves

The Cubs made a series of roster moves Friday, the most noteworthy of which saw Eric Hosmer designated for assignment. The veteran first baseman was batting .234 with a 67 wRC+ and -0.4 fWAR over 100 plate appearances and had been relegated to sporadic DH duty following the promotion of Matt Mervis. Many had wondered how much time Jed Hoyer had guaranteed Hosmer back in January, so I guess now we have the answer.

Also of note, Cody Bellinger has been placed on the IL retroactive to May 16 with what they’re calling a knee contusion. That was even more predictable than the Hosmer DFA, even after David Ross said Bellinger was available to play during the last two games of the Astros series if he felt up to it. It’s a typical procedural move, just seems like the Cubs love playing a man down.

Speaking of which, Nico Hoerner has been activated from the IL with a hamstring injury that the Cubs initially treated exactly like they’re doing with Bellinger.

In a slightly less obvious decision, Keegan Thompson was optioned to Iowa to work on a few things. His recent outing is what people are going to point to, but he shouldn’t be serving in a closer-type role and can’t bear all the blame for his usage. That said, he’s only struck out 16 batters and has an unsavory 14 walks in 21.1 innings. Getting a little confidence boost in Triple-A and then sliding back into a multi-inning role should help.

In order to fill out the roster, Edwin Ríos has been recalled from Iowa and Mike Tauchman has been selected. Tauchman is batting .278 with a ridiculous .427 OBP thanks to a major platoon split and walking 21 times in 103 PAs for the I-Cubs, while Ríos is batting .190 with a . 393 OBP in just 28 PAs. Not a whole lot to get excited about, but I’m sure a lot of folks are happy with the first move mentioned above.