Cubs activate relievers Turner and Ramirez
The Cubs made a flurry of roster moves Sunday affecting their bullpen.
Right-hander Jacob Turner, obtained last week in a trade with the Florida Marlins, reported to the club and was activated. The Cubs also activated reliever Neil Ramirez off the disabled list and optioned lefty Chris Rusin back to Class AAA Iowa.
To make room on the roster, the Cubs placed right-handed reliever Brian Schlitter on the disabled list with right-shoulder inflammation. Schlitter has been a workhorse in the bullpen, appearing in 53 games, 1 short of club leader Justin Grimm. Schlitter is 2-3 with a 3.34 ERA and a WHIP of 1.17.
Turner will begin his Cubs career in the bullpen after he went 4-7 with a 5.97 ERA with the Marlins in 20 games, 12 as a starter. All parties hope the change of scenery will be good for the 23-year-old Turner, a former first-round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2009.
"I'm excited for it," Turner said. "I think it will be a good opportunity to kind of restart.
"For whatever reasons, there were times when it seemed to work out, and there were times that I felt like I had to go in a different direction. I'm just excited to be here, and I think it will be a good opportunity."
Ramirez went on the DL effective July 26 with soreness in his right triceps. He had been one of the club's most effective relievers, going 1-1 with an 0.96 ERA and a WHIP of 0.93. He struck out 36 in 28 innings. In Sunday's 3-2, 12-inning victory over the Rays, he pitched two-thirds of an inning in the seventh, giving up 2 hits, a run and a walk.
"I feel a lot better than when I initially got out there," he said. "I feel like the ball is coming out good again. I feel loose, and I'm ready to go.
"One of the things I wanted to make sure is that I didn't shut down all the way. It's tough to come back and finish off the year if you take a lot of time off. I wanted to make sure I kept throwing. There was a little soreness."
Lake being left out:
Outfielder Junior Lake has not started since Aug. 5. Arismendy Alcantara has moved to center field with the recent call-up of second baseman Javier Baez. Lake also has been squeezed out for playing time by Chris Coghlan, Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Sweeney.
"He has been the odd-man out," said manager Rick Renteria. "We tried to run him out through all the lefties. We're going to continue to see where we can get him some at-bats. Obviously, he hasn't had very many here over the last three or four days. But we'll continue to find ways. He's been working really hard on his mechanical approach. When we can, we'll keep trying to get him in there."
Lake entered Sunday with a line of .216/.243/.366 with 10 walks and 101 strikeouts in 301 plate appearances. He bunted for a pinch single in the 11th inning and was thrown out trying to steal second base.
Bryant, Olt power Iowa:
Third-base prospect Kris Bryant hit his 16th home run for Iowa Saturday in a 9-6 loss to Oklahoma City. Between Iowa and Class AA Tennessee, Bryant has 38 home runs. He also entered Sunday having recorded at least 1 hit and 1 run in 12 straight games, going 15-for-39 (.385) in that stretch.
Mike Olt, recently sent from the Cubs to Iowa, had 2 homers Saturday, giving him 4 for the I-Cubs. He entered Sunday with multihit efforts in four of his last five games.