Roster Move: Hammel Moved to Bereavement List, Grimm Recalled

We’ve just learned that Jason Hammel, who pitched an extraordinary outing last night, is being placed on the bereavement list today and Justin Grimm will be headed back to the join the Chicago Cubs.

Justin Grimm back in #Cubs clubhouse as Jason Hammel goes on the bereavement list.

— Patrick Mooney (@CSNMooney) August 3, 2016

Grimm was sent down to Iowa on Sunday to make room for Brian Matusz on the 25-man roster. Matusz had a disastrous spot start and was demoted the following day.

The rules that apply when a player is optioned to the minors state that the player must remain there for at least 10 days before being recalled. The exception is if they need to return due to an injury or, in this case, bereavement. This prevents teams from being able to move players up and down depending on match-ups or whatever reason.

When placed on the bereavement list, a player must miss a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven. So, technically, if Hammel is out the maximum amount of time he would return on September 10th, the same date that Grimm would be eligible to recalled. But, at this time, there’s no room for Grimm on the 25-man roster.

All of this means that Grimm is likely to get sent back down to the minors unless a) there’s an injury or another bereavement or b) Joe chooses to ship someone who’s currently on the roster back down to the minors, replacing them on the 25-man with Grimm. For now, I’d expect to see Grimm sent back down but you never know for sure until it happens.