Cubs Select Ty Blach

The Cubs have selected the contract of left-hander Ty Blach from Triple-A Iowa.  In the corresponding moves for the 26-man and 40-man rosters, right-hander Javier Assad was optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander Hunter Harvey was shifted from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

Blach joins the big league roster a month after signing a minor league deal with Chicago, and posting a 5.23 ERA over 20 2/3 innings in Iowa.  While the numbers didn’t stand out, Blach’s month in the minors basically served as an unofficial spring camp for the 35-year-old, as he didn’t have any actual Spring Training work this year due to his late signing date.

A veteran of seven MLB seasons from 2016-24, Blach has a 5.42 ERA over 520 career innings with the Giants, Orioles, and Rockies as a starter, swingman, and in more of a traditional relief role.  Tommy John surgery sidelined Blach for the 2020-21 seasons, and he returned to post a 6.13 ERA over 64 appearances with the Rockies from 2022-24.  Last year, Blach had a 3.54 ERA over 56 innings in the Rangers’ farm system but never received a call to the Show.

Blach’s low velocity and strikeout totals make him a bit of an outlier to modern front offices, though he has solid control and has been able to keep the ball on the ground.  The Cubs may be most interested in Blach’s ability to toss multiple innings, given how the team’s rotation and bullpen have both been hit hard by injuries this season.

Harvey is one of the eight pitchers currently on the Cubs’ IL, and now the fifth member of that group to join the 60-day IL.  The reliever made just four appearances before triceps inflammation sent him to the 15-day IL, and Harvey revealed last week that an MRI revealed a stress reaction in his triceps area.  Because his 15-day stint officially began on April 9, Harvey’s 60-day window corresponds to that same date, so June 8 is the earliest Harvey can be activated.