Chicago Cubs Call Up Southpaw Relief Help

The Chicago Cubs called up Tom Cosgrove from AAA Iowa on Sunday. Cosgrove, the 28-year-old southpaw, was acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres earlier this month. The Chicago Cubs sent cash considerations to the Padres in order to net Cosgrove and after a short stint in the minors, Cosgrove will be a part of the bullpen moving forward. Right-hander Ethan Roberts was optioned to AAA in a corresponding move.

Cosgrove will be added to a bullpen unit in desperate need of left-handers. Another recent acquisition, Drew Pomeranz, was added to the major league roster before the Chicago Cubs’ series versus the Philadelphia Phillies to join Caleb Thielbar as the only left-handed relief option for Craig Counsell. Cosgrove adds to a unit that has been unpredictable so far in 2025, and the Cubs are hoping that Cosgrove can be a part of answering the many questions that remain for this team.

Tom Cosgrove Joins Chicago Cubs

After joining the Chicago Cubs organization earlier this month, Cosgrove is set to join the major league roster for the upcoming series in Pittsburgh when the Cubs take on the Pirates. Cosgrove was acquired earlier this month in a trade with the San Diego Padres and assigned to AAA Iowa. With the Chicago Cubs bullpen struggling to find some consistency and reliable left-handed help, Cosgrove is going to be relied upon by Counsell to take on southpaw situations and if he can answer the call, he will be with the major league team for the foreseeable future.

After struggling early in 2025 before the trade, Cosgrove has turned his season around. To start the year with the Padres AAA affiliate in El Paso, Cosgrove went 1-0 with a 7.36 ERA and 2.18 WHIP in 3.2 innings. In four bullpen appearances with the AAA Iowa Cubs, Cosgrove went 1-0 and didn’t surrender a run over four innings, while allowing three hits, one walk and striking out seven. His impressive turnaround has the Chicago Cubs front office hopeful that he can get back to his 2023 form- when he pitched to the tune of a 1.75 ERA over 51.1 innings.

To make room for Cosgrove on the major league roster, the Chicago Cubs optioned Roberts back to AAA Iowa. Roberts had a poor outing against Philadelphia on Saturday when he gave up four runs in two innings of work. For the season, Roberts is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 8.1 innings across nine appearances. He will likely make another appearance for the major league team in 2025, but the Chicago Cubs front office opted to take a look at their new acquisition and give Craig Counsell another left-handed option out of the bullpen.

Final Thoughts

I like this decision from the Chicago Cubs. This early in the season, it’s a good idea to see what you have on your roster and after pulling the trigger on a trade for Tom Cosgrove, let’s see what he can do for this bullpen. The unit is sorely lacking effective left-handed help and after Jordan Wicks‘ mini stint earlier this month didn’t pan out, the front office is turning to Pomeranz and Cosgrove for reinforcements to join Thielbar as southpaws in the pen. While Pomeranz will likely continue to work lower-leverage and multiple-inning situations, Cosgrove has the ability to prove himself and end up pitching in some crucial late-game moments for the Chicago Cubs.

While I hate seeing Roberts get sent back down to AAA, I understand the decision. He had a poor outing last weekend and that might’ve been the nail in the coffin that ultimately made the Chicago Cubs front office decide that he would be heading back to the minors. I’m fairly confident that he will be coming back to the major league squad at some point in 2025, so seeing if Cosgrove can balance the bullpen and make for a better unit overall at this moment is a worthwhile decision.