Cubs claim Gabriel Arias off waivers from Mets

Hoerner singled in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth before the Cubs won the game in 10 innings. It’s Hoerner’s third four-hit game of the year. All have come since the beginning of the season half, as he’s pushed him average up from a shockingly low .233 at the break to .265 now.

Shaw figures to be in the mix for starts between second and third base, along with rookie Pedro Ramírez, while shortstop Dansby Swanson is on the injured list with an oblique strain for the next month. The 24-year-old former top prospect has been on the injured list with a hand strain since late June. He should make it back to Chicago at some point before the end of August.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Swanson has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 oblique strain and they’re hoping that he’s able to return in roughly four weeks. The 32-year-old veteran has graded out as a top-10 fantasy option this season, hitting .216/.300/.404 with 78 runs scored, 18 homers, 66 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 458 plate appearances. It sounds like there’s a decent chance that he’s ready for the start of the postseason, if the Cubs make it that far. It’ll be Nico Hoerner taking over at shortstop with rookie Pedro Ramírez seeing the bulk of the playing time at second base.

Why did they even claim him in the first place? Arias got one start and made one appearance off the bench during his 10 days with the Mets, going 0-for-5. He’ll stay in the organization if he clears waivers, but it’s just not going to make sense for the Mets to give him another chance in September when they have the similar-but-more-talented Ronny Mauricio ready to take those at-bats. Arias offers ample pop for a middle infielder, but poor plate discipline has held him back in a big way.

Swanson left Sunday’s game with an oblique injury. Pedro Ramírez will likely become the Cubs’ primary second baseman while Swanson is out, with Nico Hoerner moving to shortstop. Kevin Alcántara could rejoin the team as a bench player until Matt Shaw is ready to come off the IL.

Swanson was hurt on a swing and a miss in the third inning. We’re just speculating, but it seems pretty likely that he’ll go on the IL, which would probably make Pedro Ramírez a true regular and worthy of a roster spot in mixed leagues for at least a couple of weeks.

Busch had been mired in a bit of a power outage lately, slashing just .253/.290/.316 with one homer, nine RBI and an 18/4 K/BB ratio over 100 plate appearances in his last 22 ballgames. He’ll get a day off to reset in this one with Pedro Ramirez filling in at first base and batting sixth against Cardinals’ right-hander Hunter Dobbins.

It looks to just be a routine day off. Pedro Ramírez is batting sixth and playing second base in Hoerner’s absence.

Hoerner’s stolen base was his 18th of the season as he continued his strong start to the second half. The veteran second baseman isn’t hitting for as high an average as fantasy managers are accustomed to, but he’ll likely finish with double-digit homers and roughly 25 thefts. The Cubs entered the day as MLB’s second-highest-scoring offense, which will help his counting stats too.

It seems likely that he’ll eventually be on the 26-man roster. Arias had a 0.5 WAR in 134 plate appearances for the Guardians, but is the rare right-handed hitter who struggled mightily against left-handed pitching, hitting .171/.224/.295 against southpaws in his career as compared to .243/.301/.392 against right-handers.