Cubs add seven players to Major League roster

CHICAGO - The Chicago Cubs today recalled right-handed pitchers Brian Schlitter, Dan Straily and Arodys Vizcaino, left-handed pitcher Zac Rosscup and outfielder Junior Lake from Triple-A Iowa. The club selected the contracts of left-handed pitcher Eric Jokisch and catcher Rafael Lopez from Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Justin Ruggiano was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
 
All seven players will be available for the Cubs tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Lopez, who will wear uniform number 51, and Jokisch, who will wear uniform number 43, each join the first big league roster of their professional careers. Vizcaino, who will wear uniform number 47, joins the Cubs for the first time.
 
Jokisch, 25, went 9-10 with a 3.58 ERA (63 ER/158.1 IP) in 26 starts with Iowa this season. The Virginia, Ill., native and Northwestern University product struck out 143 batters and walked only 31 in 158.1 innings, limiting opponents to a .255 batting average. Jokisch, who was originally selected by the Cubs in the 11th round of the 2010 Draft, is 42-35 with a 3.50 ERA (252 ER/647.2 IP) in 123 minor league appearances (99 starts) in five minor league seasons. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound southpaw tossed a no-hitter for Double-A Tennessee on August 6, 2013 at Jacksonville.
 
Lake, 24, was a member of Chicago's Opening Day roster and batted .216 (63-for-291) with nine homers and 25 RBI in 98 games with the Cubs before being optioned to Iowa on August 15. He hit .262 (17-for-65) with two homers and seven RBI in 14 games in Triple-A. Lake made his big league debut with the Cubs last season.
 
Lopez, 26, combined to hit .290 (103-for-355) with 17 doubles, five home runs, 51 RBI, a .393 on-base percentage and a .386 slugging percentage in 106 games between Tennessee and Iowa, his first stop at the Triple-A level after being named a Southern League mid-season All-Star in 2013 and 2014. The left-handed hitter was originally selected by the Cubs in the 16th round of the 2011 Draft out of Florida State University. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Lopez is a career .281 hitter (317-for-1,129) with 21 homers, 161 RBI and a .371 on-base percentage covering four minor league seasons.
 
Rosscup, 26, went 2-0 with four saves and a 2.10 ERA (7 ER/30.0 IP) in 29 relief appearances with Iowa this year. He has made 11 big league appearances this year, posting no record and a 12.96 ERA (12 ER/8.1 IP). The southpaw made his big league debut with the Cubs last year and posted no record and a 1.35 ERA (1 ER/6.2 IP) in 10 outings.
 
Schlitter, 28, was a member of Chicago's Opening Day roster and has spent time in the big leagues and in Iowa this season. He has gone 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA (19 ER/49.1 IP) in 53 relief appearances in the big leagues and posted no record with three saves and a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP) in eight relief outings between Rookie League Mesa and Iowa.
 
Straily, 25, was acquired by the Cubs as part of the trade that sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland on July 5. Since joining the Cubs, the righthander has made all but one of his starts in Triple-A, where he went 3-5 with a 4.09 ERA (25 ER/55.0 IP) in 10 starts with Iowa. He made a spot start with the Cubs on August 16 in New York, enduring a 7-3 loss to the Mets (5 ER/5.1 IP). Straily made 27 starts for Oakland last season, going 10-8 with a 3.96 ERA (67 ER/152.1 IP). He is 13-12 with a 4.21 ERA (110 ER/235.1 IP) in 42 major league starts the last three years.
 
Vizcaino, 23, joins the Cubs after spending much of the past two years recovering from Tommy John surgery. The righthander pitched at three minor league levels this year, culminating with 14 outings in Tennessee (1-1, one save, 2.63 ERA) and 17 outings with Iowa (0-0, 5.40 ERA). Vizcaino was acquired from Atlanta on July 30, 2012 after making his big league debut with the Braves in 2011, when he went 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA (9 ER/17.1 IP) in 17 relief outings. He missed the 2012 and 2013 seasons but was Atlanta's number two prospect entering the 2012 campaign.