Cubs: 1 prospect to call up, 1 veteran to demote

1 Cardinals veteran to demote: Zach Davies

We know you are all exclaiming that there is no way the Cubs will demote Zach Davies. The veteran pitcher was the biggest piece of their return for 2020 NL Cy Young runner-up Yu Darvish in their trade with the San Diego Padres. But, the Davies experiment has been a disaster thus far in the Windy City.

Following his first three starts to the season, Davies carried a hefty 10.32 ERA after facing the Pittsburgh Pirates (twice) and the Atlanta Braves. His last performance on May 1 was relatively better, where he allowed just one earned run on four hits in four innings of work against the Cincinnati Reds. Despite that, his overall statistics are still not good.

Through six starts, Davies has a cumulative 8.22 ERA and 2.13 WHIP. But, he has struck out 17 batters and walked 18 in 23 innings of work.

It is hard to envision the Cubs will admit defeat on the Darvish trade this early by demoting Davies to the minor leagues. However, logging a few starts in the farm system could allow Davies to improve his game and get right.

The odds of this happening? Minimal. But, the Cubs may need to exhaust all options if they want to improve their pitching staff and contend in what could be the last ride for the Cubs’ core of Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo.