Injuries forcing Cubs into tough roster decisions

With the injuries piling up, the Cubs have been forced to make some difficult roster decisions.

Per MLB rules, in order to add a player to the active roster, that player must also be on the 40-man roster, which includes players on the 10-day injured list.

So when they brought up infielder Sergio Alcantara from Iowa on Sunday to replace the injured David Bote, they designated pitcher Tyson Miller for assignment. That means Miller is available for any team to claim off waivers for the next seven days before he could return to Iowa.

Miller, 25, is generally considered one of the more promising pitchers in the Cubs organization. A fourth-round pick in 2016, he was ranked the team's 26th best prospect by mlbpipeline.com in 2020, in the same neighborhood as Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson, two guys who have had success with the Cubs this year. Miller made two appearances and one start for the Cubs last season.

Miller got a late start to this year after testing positive for COVID during spring training. He started Saturday for Iowa and threw 3 scoreless innings.

Already this season, the Cubs lost infielder Ildemaro Vargas to a waiver claim, although the Pirates designated Vargas for assignment on Sunday. Pitcher Shelby Miller is another player who was DFA'd recently.

Several Cubs minor-leaguers remain on the 40-man roster, including top prospect Brailyn Marquez, who has yet to pitch in the minors this season due to a slow start with COVID protocols,

In other Iowa news, two players made their debuts with the team Saturday. Maine West grad Tyler Ladendorf went 1-for-4 with a single, while veteran second baseman Dee Strange-Gordon was 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts. Strange-Gordon went 1-4 on Sunday, while Ladendorf didn't play.

Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls