Contreras, Suzuki Activated, Hermosillo DFAd, Young Optioned

The Cubs have activated Willson Contreras after nearly a month on the IL to heal his ankle and they have also activated Seiya Suzuki from the restricted list. The right fielder had been on the paternity list for three days, but needed more time to be able to travel back and forth to Japan to be with his wife and their newborn.

In order to make room on the roster, Jared Young has been optioned to Triple-A Iowa and Michael Hermosillo has been designated for assignment. It’s a tough break for Hermosillo, who grew up a Cubs fan and brought a ton of energy to the field, but he’s been hurt most of the year and was batting just .115 with a -0.4 fWAR over 73 plate appearances.

Young got only 22 PAs with the Cubs and figures to be DFAd in the near future as the Cubs seek to protect some of their prospects from the Rule 5 Draft. Named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2018, Young is a versatile defender who has reached base at a high level throughout his career. He’s been right around league average at the plate the last two seasons at Triple-A, though, and the Cubs have a lot of position players coming up.

The roster churn probably isn’t over with the end of the season in sight and we could even see some other prospects promoted before we’re through. One player to watch for is Alexander Canario, who is already on the 40-man and might get a cup of coffee once Iowa’s season is over.