With Porter Hodge on the shelf for a while following his IL designation due to an oblique issue, the Cubs have recalled righty reliever Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa. Roberts pitched well over nine April appearances, with the only blemish being a four-run game against the Phillies. The sweeper specialist has a 1.69 ERA with 18 strikeouts across 10.2 innings for the I-Cubs, and he’ll provide some depth as Craig Counsell searches for a way to fill high-leverage spots.
Roberts gets huge horizontal break on his sweeper, with its 21.4 inches of glove-side movement sitting more than seven inches greater than the MLB average.