The Cubs officially added RHP Dan Haren and RHP Tommy Hunter to the 25-man roster prior to Saturday’s game with the Brewers. The Cubs optioned RHP Yoervis Medina to Triple-A Iowa to make room on the active roster for Dan Haren.
With Saturday’s roster moves, the Cubs 25-man roster stands at 13 pitchers (five starters, eight relievers) and 12 position players.
Dan Haren will wear No. 50. Haren chose the No. 50 because that was his first one in the big leagues when he broke in with the Cardinals in 2003. And it could be his last, Haren has said he is going to call it a career at the end of the season. Tommy Hunter will wear No. 21.
The Cubs announced LHP Clayton Richard will start Sunday’s game in Milwaukee. The Cubs will have to clear a spot on the 25-man roster at some point Sunday morning.
Dan Haren, 34, is 149-129 with a 3.75 ERA (983 earned runs in 2,361.1 innings), 1.18 WHIP and 3.76 FIP in 380 appearances (369 starts) covering 13 major league seasons with St. Louis (2003-04), Oakland (2005-07), Arizona (2008-10), the Angels (2010-12), Washington (2013), the Dodgers (2014) and Miami (2015). Among active pitchers, he ranks in the top 10 in innings pitched, games started, wins, strikeouts (1,965) and WHIP (1.18). Haren has seven top 10 finishes in his league in both strikeouts and innings pitched.
A three-time All-Star, Haren has reached 30 starts and double digits in victories while surpassing 175.0 innings pitched in each of the last 10 seasons starting in 2005, numbers that are within reach for an 11th-straight campaign in 2015. Haren’s 350 starts since the beginning of the 2005 campaign are most in the majors, while his 143 victories in that span rank third.
Dan Haren broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals in 2003 at the age of 22 and joined Oakland as part of a four-player trade prior to the 2005 season. He earned his first All-Star selection in 2007 with Oakland when he went 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA (76 earned runs in 222.2 innings) in 34 starts. He was also an All-Star with Arizona in 2008 and 2009.
Haren has gone 7-7 with a 3.42 ERA (49 earned runs in 129 innings), 1.09 WHIP and 4.57 FIP in 21 starts with the Marlins this season. He has issued only 25 walks in 129.0 innings pitched, an average of 1.74 walks per nine innings, the seventh-lowest average in the National League. Haren also has turned in a 1.09 WHIP, 10th lowest in the league, while limiting opponents to a .286 on-base percentage.
Tommy Hunter, 29, has pitched all or part of eight major league seasons with the Texas Rangers (2008-11) and Baltimore (2011-15). Since moving into a full-time bullpen role with Baltimore in the 2013 season, Hunter has gone 11-9 with 39 holds, 15 saves and a 3.05 ERA (65 earned runs in 191.2 innings) in 167 relief outings the last three years, limiting opponents to a .276 on-base percentage and .357 slugging percentage for only a .633 opponents OPS. He has walked only 37 batters in 191.2 innings and posted a 1.95 ERA (six earned runs in 27.2 innings) in 21 outings against the National League the last three years.
The right-hander saw 75 of his first 98 major league outings come as a starting pitcher through the 2012 campaign before moving to the bullpen and tying for 10th in the league with 21 holds while posting a 2.81 ERA (27 earned runs in 86.1 innings) and a 0.98 WHIP in a career-high 68 outings in 2013. Hunter saw time as Baltimore’s closer last year and recorded 11 saves to go along with 12 holds and a 2.97 ERA (20 earned runs in 60.2 innings) with a 1.10 WHIP in 60 appearances. He is 2-2 with six holds, a 3.63 ERA (18 earned runs in 44.2 innings), 1.16 WHIP and 3.32 FIP in 39 appearances for the Orioles this season.
Hunter is 44-33 with 15 saves, a 4.28 ERA (314 earned runs in 661.0 innings), 1.27 WHIP and 4.57 FIP in 265 major league outings, 190 of which have come in relief. He broke into the big leagues with Texas in 2008 at the age of 22 and made all but one of his first 45 major league outings as a starter through 2010, going 13-4 with a 3.73 ERA (53 earned runs in 128 innings) in 2010 before being traded to Baltimore with Chris Davis for Koji Uehara on July 30, 2011. Hunter has reached the postseason three times with Texas (2010) and Baltimore (2012 and 2014).
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Hunter was selected by the Rangers in the supplemental first round (54th overall) of the 2007 Draft out of the University of Alabama. He is a native of Indianapolis.
Yoervis Medina, 27, has no record, a 7.00 ERA (seven earned runs in nine innings) and 1.79 WHIP in five relief appearances with the Cubs this season and is 0-2 with one save, an 8.68 ERA (18 earned runs in 18.2 innings) and 2.14 WHIP in 16 relief outings with Iowa this year.