As expected, the Cubs made two roster moves Sunday morning.
OF Chris Denorfia was activated from the 15-day DL. And to make room on the 25-man roster, OF Matt Szczur was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
Chris Denorfia is in the starting lineup for Sunday’s finale at Nationals Park. Denorfia is batting seventh and playing right field.
The Cubs active roster stands at 13 pitchers and 12 position players.
The 34-year-old Chris Denorfia is hitting .429 (9-for-21) with the Cubs this season but has been limited to 12 games due to a pair of stints on the disabled list for a left hamstring strain. Denorfia opened the season on the 15-day DL and was activated on April 17 only to return on May 5. He played two rehab games with Double-A Tennessee as part of his return this time, going 2-for-9 with two doubles and two RBI. With the Cubs this season, Denorfia has made three starts in left field and one start in right field, and has gone 4-for-6 as a pinch-hitter.
Overall, Denorfia is a career .273 hitter (539-for-1,971) in 717 games covering all or part of 10 seasons with Cincinnati (2005-06), Oakland (2008-09), San Diego (2010-14), Seattle (2014) and the Cubs (2015). He has averaged 21 doubles, four triples, nine homers and 13 stolen bases per 162 games played while turning in a career .333 on-base percentage and a .395 slugging. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder split the 2014 campaign between San Diego and Seattle and combined to bat .230 (76-for-330) with 12 doubles and three homers in 121 games.
Matt Szczur, 25, is batting .167 (6-for-36) with two doubles in 23 games for the Cubs this season. With Iowa, Szczur has batted .330 (29-for-88) with three doubles, two triples, four home runs and 14 RBI in 24 games this year.