After designating reliever Alex Hinshaw for assignment, the Chicago Cubs called up Triple-A relief pitcher Miguel Socolovich on Sunday, according to a press release by the team.
The 26-year-old Socolovich was claimed off waivers by the Cubs less than two weeks ago after Baltimore deemed him expendable, but was only able to pitch a mere 10.1 innings with the Orioles before getting the axe. Although he currently owns a 6.97 ERA with eight earned runs and six walks to his credit, the Venezuelan-born right-hander features an impressive arsenal of pitches and could prove valuable to Chicago's bullpen if he's able to overcome his command issues.
Socolovich is 36-27 overall as a minor leaguer with 432 strikeouts over 498 innings, and appears to be needed mainly in a long-relief role with the Cubs going forward. While his MLB numbers are hardly what anyone would consider eye-popping on the surface, it's likely the Cubs were interested in his impressive 4.07 K/BB ratio this season in Triple-A.
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