Cashner latest change to Cubs' bullpen

PITTSBURGH - Talk about a whirlwind day.

Andrew Cashner grabbed a flight out of Nashville, Tenn., to join the Cubs on Monday for his major-league debut and suffered through a two-hour flight delay but made it to PNC Park in time to pitch.

The jitters barely had time to take hold as Cashner got the Pirates' Ronny Cedeno to pop out on the only pitch he threw, a fastball to end the eighth inning.

The Cubs made a widely anticipated move official when they selected the contract of the hard-throwing Cashner from Class AAA Iowa and placed reliever John Grabow on the disabled list with a sprained left knee.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," said the 23-year-old Cashner, the Cubs' No. 1 draft pick in 2008 out of Texas Christian University. "It was long day. It was good to get it out of the way. It was a lot of fun."

The Cubs have been desperate for right-handed help out of the bullpen, especially with Carlos Zambrano going back to the rotation Wednesday.

They felt the time was right for Cashner.

At Class AA Tennessee this year, he was 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA and an 0.97 WHIP. After being promoted to Iowa in early May, he went 3-0 with an 0.86 ERA and an 0.90 WHIP in five games, 3 starts. The Cubs moved him to Iowa's bullpen last week.

"The kid was the top closer in the country when he drafted him," general manager Jim Hendry said. "It never hurts to get more pitch-ability.

"When you're pitching at TCU, I'm sure he was throwing his 95-98 (mph) stuff right by people. When we first got him, there was still a lot of need to develop his slider, and in this case, too, the changeup, a third pitch.

"I think we did the right thing. He's certainly not behind. His development's pretty good. The only way to develop pitch-ability is to start."

For now, the plan is to let Cashner work the middle innings, even though he relieved in the eighth Monday, and then let him slide into more of a setup role.

Long term, the Cubs say they aren't sure what the career path is for Cashner.

"I like to do both, so it doesn't really matter to me," he said. "It's definitely a dream come true."