Relief pitcher Génesis Cabrera has been with the Chicago Cubs since May 29th. The Cubs signed him looking for help in the bullpen as a low-leverage reliever. Although Cabrera had a solid start with only one run allowed in his first appearance, his ERA for the Cubs is up to 8.68. This is mostly due to back-to-back one-inning outings giving up three earned runs in each. The Cubs had seen enough and DFA’d him earlier today . In turn, they recalled Nate Pearson from Triple-A Iowa to replace him.
Cubs DFA Génesis Cabrera, Promote Nate Pearson https://t.co/Nox1PFoKpC pic.twitter.com/ieOJeYJIgU
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) June 21, 2025
As of right now, it is not clear what the Cubs will do with Cabrera, whether it’s trading him, releasing him, placing him on waivers, or assigning him to the minor leagues. In the past, Cabrera has had control issues and given up too many walks. And while that wasn’t an issue on the Cubs with only a 7.7% walk rate, he still gave up too many runs. He only pitched 9 1/3 innings and gave up nine earned runs.
As mentioned above, Nate Pearson was recalled to fill Cabrera’s roster spot. Pearson has spent some time at the major league level this year but was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on April 15th. So far in the majors this year, Pearson has posted a 10.38 ERA in only 8 2/3 innings. In his eight appearances for the Cubs, he has given up a run in all but two games. Since being sent down to Triple-A, he has been much improved. He has pitched in 24 1/3 innings for the Iowa Cubs and holds an ERA of 2.22. This includes 29 strikeouts in those 24 1/3 innings.
Pearson’s role will most likely be the same as Cabrera’s, which is a low-leverage reliever. He will be thrown in the game either when the Cubs are down big or up big. While he isn’t there right now, if he can start to perform at a higher level, the Cubs may start using him differently.
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