{"id":54950,"date":"2025-05-13T13:46:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T13:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=54950"},"modified":"2025-05-13T13:46:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T13:46:26","slug":"cubs-planning-to-promote-prospect-moises-ballesteros-for-wrigley-debut-put-ian-happ-on-il-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=54950","title":{"rendered":"Cubs planning to promote prospect Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros for Wrigley debut, put Ian Happ on IL: Source"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CHICAGO \u2014 The Chicago Cubs are planning to promote big-time prospect Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros from the Triple-A Iowa Cubs for Tuesday\u2019s game at Wrigley Field against the Miami Marlins, a team source confirmed to The Athletic<\/em>, while outfielder Ian Happ is expected to go on the injured list with an oblique issue.<\/p>\n

Ballesteros, 21, is a gifted left-handed hitter out of Venezuela who has consistently excelled in the minor leagues, even while being several years younger than the average age at multiple levels. He earned this chance with a red-hot start to the Triple-A season, batting .368 with a .942 OPS and 50 hits in 34 games.<\/p>\n

Ballesteros was the organization\u2019s minor league player of the year in 2023 and 2024, and he entered this season at No. 46 on\u00a0<\/em>Athletic <\/em>writer Keith Law\u2019s rankings of the sport\u2019s top 100 prospects. The move to call up Ballesteros was first reported by 670 The Score and Marquee Sports Network.<\/p>\n

Ballesteros\u2019 primary defensive position is catcher, but the Cubs don\u2019t need him behind the plate because Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly have been an effective combination. Evaluators have questions about whether Ballesteros\u2019 long-term future will be at catcher, or if he could play there part-time while rotating between first base and designated hitter. For now, though, the Cubs are hoping for instant offense.<\/p>\n

The DH spot recently opened as the Cubs shuffled their lineup. Happ, a three-time Gold Glove winner in left field, has been sidelined for the last three games while dealing with an oblique injury. For the time being, that will likely shift Seiya Suzuki back to the outfield.<\/p>\n

Justin Turner was signed to ideally be the backup DH. He has a long track record and immense postseason experience, but at the age of 40, he has struggled so far in a part-time role. Through 70 plate appearances, he does not yet have an extra-base hit.<\/p>\n

That created an opportunity for Ballesteros, who wouldn\u2019t be called up to sit on the bench. The Cubs will want him to keep playing and developing, which would presumably put him in Tuesday\u2019s lineup against the Miami Marlins for his major-league debut.<\/p>\n

(Photo of Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros: Mark J. Rebilas \/ Imagn Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Patrick Mooney<\/strong> is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. He spent eight seasons covering the Cubs across multiple platforms for NBC Sports Chicago\/Comcast SportsNet, beginning in 2010. He has been a frequent contributor to MLB Network, Baseball America, MLB.com and the Chicago Sun-Times News Group. Follow Patrick on Twitter @PJ_Mooney<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cubs are hoping for instant offense from Ballesteros, a gifted left-handed hitter who has consistently excelled in the minor leagues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":54951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282],"class_list":["post-54950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs"],"yoast_head":"\nCubs planning to promote prospect Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros for Wrigley debut, put Ian Happ on IL: Source - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=54950\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cubs planning to promote prospect Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros for Wrigley debut, put Ian Happ on IL: Source - 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