Cubs select RHP Adrian Sampson from Triple-A Iowa, designate OF Johneshwy Fargas for assignment

CINCINNATI – The Chicago Cubs today selected right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson from Triple-A Iowa and designated outfielder Johneshwy Fargas for assignment.

Sampson will wear uniform number 56 and will start today’s 12:35 p.m. ET game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Sampson, 29, is 4-5 with a 4.96 ERA (45 ER/81.2 IP) in 16 games (14 starts) for Iowa this season, walking 33 and striking out 61. He has allowed three runs or less in seven of his last eight starts dating to June 29. Sampson signed a minor league contract with Chicago in May of this year after pitching for the Lotte Giants in the Korean Baseball Organization in 2020, going 9-12 with a 5.40 ERA (78 ER/130.0 IP).

Sampson is 6-12 with a 5.71 ERA (97 ER/153.0 IP) in all or part of three major league seasons with Seattle (2016) and Texas (2018-19). He made his major league debut with the Mariners in 2016, appearing in one game, and saw his most extensive big league action with the Rangers in 2019, going 6-8 with a 5.89 ERA (82 ER/125.1 IP) in 35 games (15 starts) with 36 walks and 101 strikeouts.

The six-foot two-inch Sampson was originally drafted by the Pirates in the fifth round of the 2012 draft out of Bellevue (Wash.) Community College. He was traded to Seattle for left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ, at the 2015 trade deadline.

Fargas, 26, has hit .269 (7-for-26) with a triple and two RBI in 13 games for the Cubs since he was selected off waivers from the New York Mets, July 23 of this year.