CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today selected right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson from Triple-A Iowa and optioned infielder Frank Schwindel to Iowa.
Sampson, 30, last season posted a 2.80 ERA (11 ER/35.1 IP) with a 1-2 record in 10 games (five starts) for Chicago last season after he was selected from Iowa on August 18. He started with a 1.59 ERA (2 ER/11.1 IP) through his first five outings and, all told, pitched to a 1.08 WHIP with eight walks, 28 strikeouts and a .231 opponent batting average.
Sampson, who re-signed to a minor league deal with the organization in March of this year, has posted a 5.03 ERA (8 ER/19.2 IP) with six walks and 13 strikeouts in five starts with Iowa this season. After allowing four earned runs in 2.0 innings in his season debut, April 8 at Buffalo, Sampson has pitched to a 2.04 ERA (4 ER/17.2 IP) in his last four outings.
The six-foot two-inch Sampson is 7-14 with a 5.16 ERA (108 ER/188.1 IP) in all or part of four major league seasons with Seattle (2016), Texas (2018-19) and the Cubs. 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.
Sampson signed a minor league contract with Chicago in May of 2021 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 was selected 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.
Schwindel, 29, is hitting .209 (19-for-91) with three doubles, two home runs and nine RBI in 25 games for Chicago this season.
