Inside The Cubs

Chicago Cubs Recall Intriguing Starter Ahead of Arizona Diamondbacks Series

The Chicago Cubs recalled a familiar face prior to Friday's series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tyler Maher|
Mar 15, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan; Chicago Cubs pitcher Jordan Wicks (36) throws a pitch against the Hanshin Tigers during the eighth inning at Tokyo Dome.
Mar 15, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan; Chicago Cubs pitcher Jordan Wicks (36) throws a pitch against the Hanshin Tigers during the eighth inning at Tokyo Dome. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs

Jordan Wicks is officially back with the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs made a roster move prior to Friday afternoon's series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field, promoting Wicks from Triple-A Iowa.

Chicago optioned left-handed reliever Luke Little to Iowa in a corresponding move.

Now in his third MLB season, Wicks stuggled last year with the Cubs. In 46 innings over 11 appearances (10 starts), he went 2-4 with a 5.48 ERA and -0.5 WAR.

That was a clear step back from his promising rookie campaign in 2023, where he went 4-1 with a 4.41 ERA and 0.3 WAR in seven starts.

Wicks failed to make the team out of spring training and opened the year in Triple-A. He pitched well for Iowa, recording a 3.55 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12.2 innings there.

Meanwhile, Little struggled in his lone appearance for Chicago this year, walking four batters in 0.2 innings out of the bullpen in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres.

The Cubs already have their starting pitchers set for this weekend's series, so Wicks isn't coming up for a spot start. He'll likely replace Little in a shaky relief corps that's still searching for consistency and quality innings.

While the 25-year-old southpaw struggled as a starter last season, perhaps his stuff will play better out of the bullpen. The Diamondbacks have several dangerous left-handed hitters in Corbin Carroll, Josh Naylor, Pavin Smith and Alek Thomas, so Craig Counsell might be thinking of deploying Wicks against them in a late-game situation.

If Wicks makes a good impression in his season debut, perhaps he'll stick around a bit longer than Little.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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