MILWAUKEE -- Ian Happ arrived at American Family Field on Wednesday morning still sore from the hard foul ball he hit off his left shin the previous night, but the veteran Cubs outfielder was happy to avoid anything serious and bypass a stint on the injured list.
Even so, the Cubs wanted to give Happ a day off from starting -- plus Thursday’s team off-day -- while still being able to field a solid lineup. With that in mind, Chicago promoted catching prospect Moisés Ballesteros (Cubs No. 2, MLB No. 47) from Triple-A Iowa and cleared a spot on the roster by designating utility man Vidal Bruján for assignment.
“We’re just trying to put the best lineup out there today, essentially,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said prior to Wednesday’s 10-3 win over the Brewers. “Moving forward, we’re probably going to have to make some other changes to the roster just to get more outfield depth. But for today, it made sense.”
Ballesteros was slotted into the lineup as Chicago’s designated hitter, while Seiya Suzuki took over in left field with Happ out of the lineup. Ballesteros delivered a three-run double in the third inning for the first extra-base hit of his MLB career, and Happ entered off the bench in the seventh and belted a solo homer in the ninth inning.
Without Bruján as part of the bench mix, Counsell said utility man Jon Berti -- a versatile infielder by trade -- would be the current outfield backup behind Suzuki, Happ, right fielder Kyle Tucker and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Due to that situation, Counsell was asked if the Cubs considered promoting outfielder Owen Caissie -- MLB Pipeline’s top Cubs prospect and No. 36 on the Top 100 list -- from Triple-A Iowa rather than Ballesteros.
“Yeah, there was some debate,” Counsell said. “I guess I would tell you the rosters are changeable every day.”
Counsell said Caissie was “absolutely” on the list of candidates to help boost the outfield situation for Chicago. That said, the 23-year-old Caissie is also a candidate to be dealt away by the Cubs, who are hunting for pitching help and potentially an additional bat ahead of Thursday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline.
In 82 games with the I-Cubs this season, Caissie has hit .278 with 20 homers, 25 doubles and a .938 OPS. That includes a torrid stretch over the past two months by the outfielder. Entering Wednesday, the budding slugger was batting .322 with 13 home runs, 14 doubles and a 1.091 OPS dating back to June 1 at Triple-A.
For now, the Cubs will lean on the 21-year-old Ballesteros, who is known for his bat but offers depth behind the plate as well. The catcher hit .351 with nine doubles and a .931 OPS in 19 games in July for Triple-A Iowa and rejoined Chicago after getting a five-game taste of the big leagues in May.
“I know how to be a little more calm, a little more patient when hitting,” Ballesteros said of returning to the Majors, via team translator Fredy Quevedo Jr. “As much as we want to go out there and do things perfect, you've got to just stick to what you do and just try not to do too much.”
Ballesteros certainly looked more relaxed when he slashed a pitch from Freddy Peralta into the left-center gap for his double in the third.
“Just a good at-bat. Hit it hard, hit in the gap and we got three runs there,” Counsell said. “That’s great. You call a kid up, he doesn’t sleep, has a three o’clock wakeup call and delivers the biggest hit of the game.”