Cubs' Miley set to debut Tuesday in boost for rotation

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A beleaguered Cubs starting rotation will receive a boost Tuesday when lefty Wade Miley is expected to make his team debut.

Cubs manager David Ross told reporters in San Diego Miley is the team's scheduled starter for Tuesday's game against the Padres.

Miley, a key offseason acquisition, opened the season on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. Between the injury and taking a cautious approach to his workload during MLB's lockout, he did not pitch during the abbreviated spring training.

He's been building up in recent weeks, making a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa last week in which he threw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits. He was so efficient that he had to throw more in the bullpen after exiting the game to get his scheduled number of pitches in.

Miley's return is a welcomed one for the Cubs. Marcus Stroman went on the IL without injury designation Sunday, indicating a relation to COVID-19, and the rotation has struggled through the first month — ranking 27th in both innings and ERA entering Monday.

The Cubs bullpen has thrown more innings than the rotation this season.

Miley has a good track record. The Cubs claimed him off waivers from the Reds last November, coming off a season in which he finished with a 3.37 ERA and 5.5 bWAR in 28 starts

“We picked him up in hopes of getting who he's been,” Cubs manager David Ross said of Miley over the weekend. “He’s a guy who knows how to compete, been a part of winning, been a part of a lot of winning. Love the pace. 

“Just knows how to navigate a lineup, knows how to go out and compete every five days. Veteran presence. Definitely a stabilizing force in the rotation along with some of those other veterans we have and bringing along some of these young guys.”

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