Cubs place Lackey and Rondon on the Disabled list |
DENVER – The Chicago Cubs today placed right-handed pitcher John Lackey on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to August 15) with a right shoulder strain and right-handed pitcher Hector Rondon on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to August 17) with a right triceps strain. In corresponding roster moves, the Cubs have selected the contracts of right-handed pitcher Felix Pena and left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny from Triple-A Iowa.
To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitchers Dallas Beeler and Aaron Brooks have been transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Both Pena, who will wear uniform number 60, and Zastryzny, who will wear uniform number 29, join the first major league roster of their careers and will be available for the Cubs tonight when they begin their three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Pena, 26, is 3-4 with three saves and a 3.41 ERA (24 ER/63.1 IP) in 36 relief appearances with Iowa this season. He has struck out 81 batters and walked only 23 in 63.1 innings pitched, good for 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Pena has posted a 1.09 WHIP and limited opponents to a .203 batting average, including a .217 mark by right-handed hitters and a .180 mark by left-handed hitters. He has a 2.89 ERA (6 ER/18.2 IP) in 10 relief outings since the Triple-A All-Star Break. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Pena originally signed with the Cubs as a non-drafted free agent on March 9, 2009 out of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He is only three seasons removed from spending the entire 2013 with low-Single-A Kane County, where he earned mid-season All-Star honors, before moving on to earn mid-season All-Star honors with high-Single-A Daytona in 2014 and Double-A Tennessee in 2015. Overall, Pena is 29-39 with seven saves and a 3.79 ERA (265 ER/628.2 IP) in 179 minor league appearances (78 starts) covering eight minor league seasons. Zastryzny, 24, has combined to go 10-5 with a 4.31 ERA (65 ER/135.2 IP) in 24 outings, all but one as a starter, between Tennessee and Iowa this season. He began the season by making nine starts with Tennessee (3-2, 4.28) before earning his first promotion to Iowa on May 24 and going 7-3 with a 4.33 ERA in 15 Triple-A appearances (14 starts). With Iowa, Zastryzny has limited foes to a .229 batting average, including a .190 mark to left-handed hitters, and has gone 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA (5 ER/20.0 IP) in his last four outings, fanning 25 in 20.0 innings. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Zastryzny was originally selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2013 Draft out of the University of Missouri. Like Pena, Zastryzny is only two seasons removed from Single-A Daytona. Overall, Zastryzny is 17-16 with a 4.60 ERA (171 ER/334.1 IP) in 73 minor league appearances, including 68 starts, in four minor league campaigns. Lackey, 37, is 9-7 with a 3.41 ERA (60 ER/158.1 IP) in 24 starts with the Cubs this year. Rondon, 28, is 2-3 with five holds, 18 saves and a 2.47 ERA (12 ER/43.2 IP) in 45 relief appearances with the Cubs this season.
