Cubs add Zastryzny, drop La Stella for NLCS
The Chicago Cubs decided to bolster their bullpen for the National League championship series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For that reason, they dropped infielder Tommy La Stella from the NLCS roster and added rookie left-handed reliever Rob Zastryzny. The move gives the Cubs a 12-man pitching staff for the series.
"We just decided on one more pitcher on the roster," manager Joe Maddon said before Saturday's series opener. "We thought Rob Z against this group could be beneficial to us. Of course, missing Tommy's bat is never any fun, but we thought (outfielder Chris) Coghlan has been swinging the bat really well. We felt we needed one more pitcher, so we chose to do that route. Rob Z pitched well against them in L.A., plus in general, we'd like to have another left-handed pitcher."
The addition of Zastryzny gives the Cubs four left-handers in the bullpen: closer Aroldis Chapman, Travis Wood, Mike Montgomery and Zastryzny.
The 24-year-old Zastryzny came up from Class AAA Iowa on Aug. 19 and remained with the big club for the remainder of the regular season. In 8 games, including 1 spot start, Zastryzny went 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA. He was a second-round draft choice of the Cubs in 2013.
The Cubs have four rookies on the NLCS roster: Zastryzny, catcher Willson Contreras, outfielder Albert Almora Jr. and reliever Carl Edwards Jr.
"I didn't realize that," Maddon said. "I don't even process all that. We're basing it off what we see right now. Almora's made a lot of really great strides, as an example. And Rob Z, what he did in L.A. is etched in your mind. Just in general, you look at the Dodger team and their lineup, the ability to have left-handed pitching ... But that doesn't mean it's going to work or play. You're just trying to make your best guesses right now."
La Stella appeared in one game of the division series against the Giants.
He's good to go:
Catcher Miguel Montero, who has dealt with chronic back problems for much of his career, has been bothered by them a bit lately, but it was not enough to keep him off the roster.
"Not too bad," Joe Maddon said. "He felt pretty good yesterday. Talking to PJ (athletic trainer Mainville), it wasn't an overwhelming issue. It was not that tough of a decision."
Getting valuable experience:
Most of the Cubs' young players are getting their second straight year of postseason experience, something Joe Maddon says can only help.
"I keep trying to put out there we're young, we're going to keep getting better," he said. "Addison (Russell) is hitting fifth today. He was hitting ninth last year. Javy (Baez) had a chance to play last year, but you can see how much more mature he is at the plate this year compared to last year. There's still a lot of room for growth with him, too.
"You talk about KB (Kris Bryant). He's still a novice. He's in the MVP voting along with (Anthony) Rizzo. He's 27 and everybody thinks he's old. There's a lot of room for growth. That's not lost on me. Everybody talks about us being as good as we are. Thank you, but look, these guys are still big-league novices in a lot of ways, and they're doing really good work at pertinent times of the year."