Nothing will anger fans and a manager more than watching a reliever come in and not throw strikes. That's how Luke Little's season debut went in Wednesday's series finale against the Padres. Little's demotion to the minors was officially posted on the Cubs transactions page Thursday night.
The lefty was called up earlier this week by the Cubs, but he was immediately returned to Triple-A after walking four batters, including one with the bases loaded, in less than an inning of work in Chicago's 4-2 loss in San Diego.
The left-hander came in to pitch the eighth inning after Pete Crow-Armstrong homered to make it a 3-2 game. It was a good spot for Little, who was set to face the weak part of San Diego's lineup, but he couldn't throw a strike. Little walked Jason Heyward, got an out on a sac-bunt, and then walked Gavin Sheets. He was able to get the second out of the inning as Elías Díaz fouled out, but then Little walked the No. 9 hitter, loading the bases for Fernando Tatis Jr.
You could argue that Craig Counsell should have pulled Little right there and then, but there's no easy matchup against Tatis Jr. Little walked him too, giving the Padres a two-run cushion and that was the game. Little was taken out after the fourth walk, concluding a 34-pitch appearance that only featured 15 strikes.
Unfortunately, walks will seemingly always be part of Little's game. Even when he had a successful stretch in 2024, the 6-foot-8 reliever walked 11 batters in 17 innings despite a 1.59 ERA over 20 appearances before an injury ended his rookie year.
Little was one of two relievers that the Cubs called up following Nate Pearson and Eli Morgan's awful showings on Monday. The other was Daniel Palencia, who pitched in back-to-back games against the Padres. Palencia also allowed an earned run in relief on Wednesday.
Yet, there were encouraging signs from Palencia in his two appearances in San Diego. The hard-throwing righty has also had command issues in his MLB stints with the Cubs, but on Tuesday he retired the side in order and then on Wednesday Palencia came in relief of Matthew Boyd in the sixth inning with runners at the corners and only one out. Palencia got out of the jam, striking out a batter and getting a ground ball on four total pitches.
It was the first time since last August that Palencia pitched on consecutive days.
The Cubs will now replace Little on the pitching staff ahead of Friday's series opener against the Diamondbacks. According to online rumblings Jordan Wicks will be called up from Triple-A. The lefty was scratched from his scheduled start on Thursday at Iowa.
The Cubs are calling up Jordan Wicks, source confirms. @mitch_santini was on it 🫡
— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) April 18, 2025
Righty Colin Rea will be the starter on Friday. He threw 68 pitches on Sunday against the Dodgers. So, you should expect to see Wicks come in after Rea reaches a certain pitch limit against Arizona.
