Kyle Schwarber Reports To Iowa Cubs

(CBS) Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber has reported to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs in Des Moines, the Register's Tommy Birch reported Monday morning.

Schwarber was demoted to Triple-A last Thursday in a jarring-if-not-surprising move by the Cubs amid season-long struggles of his. Schwarber is hitting .171 with 12 homers, 28 RBIs and a .673 OPS in 64 games in the big leagues this season, with a strikeout rate of 28.7 percent.

After his demotion, the Cubs encouraged Schwarber to take a few days away from the game before meeting up with the Iowa Cubs, who just wrapped up a four-game series at Round Rock (Texas). Schwarber is expected to be in the lineup when the Iowa Cubs host New Orleans on Monday night.

The length of Schwarber's minor league stint will revolve around his progress, with Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein saying last Thursday he'll be there "until he's himself again."

"I wouldn't expect it to be too long, but I also didn't expect us to be in this position," Epstein said. "Neither did Kyle, neither did just about anybody else. There are no certainties in this game, but we still have full belief in him."

Schwarber played 17 games for the Iowa Cubs in 2015, the same season he debuted in the big leagues.