As you all know, Justin Steele got hurt and now a new guy gets his spot:
Naturally the Cubs will have their official social media tweet soon, but this has been confirmed by multiple Cubs beat folks so we should expect Ben Brown in uniform sometime soon, possibly even tonight if he got to town soon after Steele got off the field and into the training room.
Brown, of course, was the return in the David Robertson trade, and had impressed in the minors prior to his untimely injury right around when the Cubs left for London last season. He showed many bright spots this spring and there was an outside shot he would make the Opening Day roster, but now he gets his cup of coffee just two games into 2024.
The fact that they called him up right away instead of massaging some optionable moves suggests that the Cubs want to keep the possibility of Brown hopping into long relief as soon as tonight, and if they don’t need him, then he can pick up Steele’s next start. And although we like the Cubs pitching development these days, Brown is still technically unproven, so some restraint should be exercised with regard to our expectations even if we hope he just mows everyone down.
Good luck, kid!
UPDATE: The Cubs welcomed him too:
