The Chicago Cubs have dealt with injuries to their pitching staff early on in the 2025 season, but their first major position player became official after Monday’s game against Miami. Ian Happ was dealing with an oblique issue during the opening game of last weekend’s series against the Mets, and missed the final two games of the set because of it. After Happ couldn’t draw into the lineup on Monday, the front office decided it was time to place the leadoff man on the 10-Day IL.
With Happ hitting the IL, the club called up one of their top prospects from Triple-A. Moises Ballesteros made his big league debut in Tuesday’s comeback victory against the Marlins as the designated hitter. The 21-year-old hit seventh in the order to begin his career, but he did not collect a hit in his debut. Regardless, Ballesteros will do everything he can to make it difficult on the Cubs’ front office to send him back to Triple-A once Happ returns from the IL.
The team might already be preparing for the possibility of Mo Baller sticking around longer than some originally thought. One of their everyday infielders took ground balls at a new spot prior to Tuesday night’s game at Wrigley Field.
Michael Busch was caught taking reps at third base
Video surfaced before Tuesday’s game of Michael Busch getting work in at third base, which immediately has Cubs fans thinking of what that may mean. When Chicago acquired Busch last offseason, they put him back to the position he spent the most time playing in college. While at North Carolina, Busch worked primarily at first base, and he has been great there so far with the Cubs.
Throughout his time with the Dodgers, Busch was all over the place. This is mainly because Los Angeles has so many moving parts and they just throw their young players wherever they need them on any given day. Busch mostly played third and second base with the Dodgers, which gives reason to believe that he could be comfortable playing the hot corner if the Cubs desperately need him to.
Ballesteros plays first base along with his catching duties, so some could argue that Busch getting reps over at third could be to prepare him for a longer stay for the youngster moving forward. Or, this could all be speculation and it might not mean anything at all. Either way, it’s important to keep this in mind down the road.
The Chicago Cubs need all the help they can get at third base
Whether it’s Busch or someone else, the Cubs’ still need help over at third base. Things have gotten better defensively at the hot corner over the past couple of weeks, but the rotation they have over there just is not a sustainable way to occupy the position throughout the summer.
Matt Shaw is the obvious choice to fill the void, as the organization’s top prospect is back in Iowa after struggling mightily at the plate in his first 18 big league games. The trade market is a very realistic option for Chicago as well, but they might want to use all of their resources to address their pitching issues later this summer.
Multiple MLB teams inquiring for Chicago Cubs’ promising rookie this spring: Report
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