Chicago Cubs activate Edward Cabrera to serve a new role

The Cubs activated Edward Cabrera Saturday morning and placed reliever Trent Thornton on the IL due to left ankle soreness. Cabrera had been rehabbing after suffering more blister issues. He’s pitched in only one MLB game since June 23rd in what’s been a disappointing, injury-riddled season for the fireballing righty.

The Cubs are activating Edward Cabrera and adding him to their bullpen ahead of today’s game against the Pirates at Wrigley Field. In the corresponding roster move, Trent Thornton was placed on the injured list with left ankle soreness.

— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) September 12, 2026

Cabrera is indeed heading to the bullpen, per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney. The Cubs are desperately trying to find bullpen solutions in these final two weeks, and Cabrera has the high-octane type of stuff many relievers on the team lack. Now it’s all about execution.

Can Cabrera succeed in the bullpen?

As mentioned before, Cabrera has a high-90s fastball, along with off-speed and breaking stuff. Yet, the results haven’t been there this year; he sports a 5.68 ERA, 5.21 FIP, 5.10 xERA, 7.9 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 1.5 WHIP in 76 innings pitched. Not to mention a Hard Hit% in the 17th percentile and xBA of .267.

Nothing within those numbers looks promising. It’s not like he has a high ERA, but better peripherals with consistent weak contact and/or high strikeout numbers. The whiff rate is in the 61st percentile, which isn’t bad, but it has not resulted in finishing guys off (35th percentile strikeout rate). His groundball rate isn’t awful either (54th percentile), but not much above average.

The question is, could pitching out of the pen with a different approach help him lock in? Could he better channel the stuff that’s working and execute more efficiently with fewer pitches per appearance? It’s not necessarily easy to bet on, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility either. Starters moving the pen and executing is nothing baseball fans have not seen before.

Cabrera will be eased into the role. Unless something wild happens in a game, don’t expect him to be a top closer candidate. In the end, pick your poison. Cabrera, Shelby Miller, who is walking guys left and right in Iowa, Jaxon Wiggins, who sports a 7.02 ERA in the Minors, or Justin Steele, who has not pitched in nearly two years and is throwing high-80s/low-90s in his rehab starts.

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