The Cubs selected Hughes' contract from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.
Chicago freed up a spot on the 40-man roster for Hughes by placing Jason Heyward on the COVID-19-related injured list and opened up room for the southpaw in the bullpen by optioning Conner Menez to Triple-A Iowa. A 16th-round draft pick out Michigan State in 2017, Hughes had yet to allow a run while striking out 22 and holding opponents to an .091 average through 16.2 innings at Iowa. The Cubs are likely to deploy him in lower-leverage spots initially.