Late-season call-ups are often a formality — roster filler while contenders rest their stars and rebuilders audition prospects. Gavin Hollowell made his look like a statement.
The St. John's alumnus was activated off the Chicago Cubs' roster this week after the team placed Edward Cabrera on the Family Medical Emergency List, giving Hollowell a window in the season's final stretch. He didn't waste it. In his outing Friday against the Boston Red Sox, Hollowell posted a 2.45 ERA — a figure that would look at home on any rotation anchor's stat line, let alone a reliever sliding into an uncertain bullpen role under murky circumstances.
The Context Behind the Call-Up
Roster moves born of necessity often go sideways. The Cubs were playing what one outlet aptly called "roster Jenga," shuffling pieces in the wake of Cabrera's absence. Hollowell stepped in and provided exactly what Chicago needed: stability out of the bullpen with no drama attached. For a team navigating the final week of the regular season, that's no small thing.
The Queens, New York product — who played his college ball at St. John's before working his way through professional baseball — represents the kind of depth piece that organizations quietly prize. He may not dominate a highlight reel, but a 2.45 ERA in late-September work tells its own story.
A Thin Week, But a Notable One
Hollowell was the lone St. John's alumnus to generate significant headlines in MLB action from September 20–26. The Red Men have a modest but real footprint across the majors — Matt Carasiti with the Rockies, Amir Garrett with the Angels, Nick Mondak also in Anaheim, Ethan Routzahn with the Padres, and Cody Stashak with the Phillies all remain active at the big-league level — though none produced standout news during this stretch.
That leaves Hollowell carrying the St. John's banner into the season's final days, which, given the performance, is a fine place to leave things. A 2.45 ERA is hard to argue with regardless of sample size. For a late-call-up reliever pitching on short notice in the middle of a Cubs roster shuffle, it's the kind of outing that keeps phones ringing in the offseason.
St. John's may not be the first name that comes to mind when mapping MLB's college pipelines, but a week like this is a quiet reminder that the program has produced arms capable of competing at the highest level. Hollowell's brief but efficient return to the mound is Exhibit A.
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