CHICAGO -- Manager David Ross was able to watch 21-year-old lefty Brailyn Marquez -- added to the Cubs' 40-man playoff pool -- throw during a workout on Friday at Wrigley Field. The manager liked what he saw, but it might still be a long shot for the untested prospect to pitch for the Cubs in October.

"He continues to get better," Ross said. "You try to think about how the environment would affect him. You try to think about the pitch characteristics. Can he follow a scouting report, or do you let him just come in and be himself with the stuff? We talk daily about all those things."

MLB Pipeline has rated Marquez, who wields a powerful fastball that can reach triple digits, as the Cubs' No. 1 prospect and the No. 64 prospect overall in MLB.

"I just rely on our player development group and front office," Ross said, "to let me know when a guy might be ready. I know in a lot of peoples' minds, he's getting close. And so, you just continue to talk about that and watch the outings and try to assess."

Worth noting
• Ross noted that righty Tyler Chatwood (10-day injured list, right forearm) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. The manager said Chatwood "wants to help" in the playoffs, but Ross still believes a deeper run would be required for that to come to fruition.

"I still think he's got a pretty good bit to go," Ross said. "His heart's in the right place, I'll tell you that."

• Prior to Friday's game, the Cubs optioned designated hitter José Martínez to the South Bend, Ind., alternate training site and purchased the contract of corner infielder Patrick Wisdom. Ross said Wisdom has performed well of late, but the skipper noted that the move was to add infield depth with Bryant and David Bote (undisclosed issue) both down on Friday.

• Righty Adbert Alzolay will start on Sunday's season finale against the White Sox, per Ross. Initially, the Cubs planned on giving the start to lefty José Quintana, but he is not stretched out enough and the Cubs want to get a look at him out of the bullpen again before the postseason.

• In order to vacate a spot on the 40-man roster for Wisdom, the Cubs recalled right Manny Rodriguez (right biceps strain) from Double-A Tennessee and placed him on the 45-day injured list.

Quotable
"I'm mad that everybody's mad. I'm having fun, and we're still in first place. ... We've just got to have fun. We've just got to compete. We are who we are, but we've got to work. We've got to work for what we want -- that is the championship." -- Javier Báez