David Bote is back in Chicago.

He didn’t know if he’d be here again.

For the first time since late 2022, Bote is on the big-league roster as the Cubs made a roster move ahead of Sunday’s game against the Reds.

Adbert Alzolay was moved to the 60-day IL to create room on the 40-man roster for Bote while Nick Madrigal was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.

Bote was immediately inserted into the lineup Sunday, batting 8th and playing third base as the Cubs. He went 0-for-3 with an RBI on a fielder’s choice and was lifted for pinch-hitter Michael Busch in the 9th inning as the Cubs lost to the Reds 5-2.

“I didn’t know if it was ever gonna happen again,” Bote admitted. “And I was like, I can’t control that. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But I’m gonna keep showing up every day I’m employed and keep trying to get back and do everything I can to do it.”

[WATCH: David Bote explains his emotions as he returns to Chicago]

Bote is a familiar name for Cubs fans. He is the longest tenured player in the organization as a 2012 draft pick (18th round).

Over the last 13 years, he has played 384 games in the majors and 781 contests in the minors.

Of course, he is most well known for the ultimate grand slam in 2018 when he hit a walk-off blast with the Cubs trailing 3-0 at Wrigley Field against the Nationals.

Bote was a big part of the Cubs teams from 2018-21. He initially came up when Kris Bryant was injured in 2018 and developed into a pretty regular role in 2019 when he played in a career-high 127 games with a .362 on-base percentage and .785 OPS.

In 2020, he led the team in RBI (29) in the shortened season and in 2021, he was named the team’s Opening Day second baseman over Nico Hoerner.

But multiple shoulder injuries cost him time in ’21 and then shoulder surgery kept him out of action for the early part of the 2022 season.

In the spring of 2019, he signed an extension with the Cubs that would pay him $15 million over 5 years and keep him under contract through the 2024 campaign.

The Cubs designated Bote for assignment after the 2022 season and when he went unclaimed on waivers, they outrighted him to Triple-A Iowa, where he has spent the last year-and-a-half.

Now he’s getting another opportunity in “The Show.”

“It’s awesome. It’s really good to be back,” Bote said. “I’m super excited. To come back here again, it’s so cool that I get to have a second chance in this group and with this team, this organization that has been so gracious to me for 13 years now.

“It’s good to be back here and to to help the team win in any way anyway, I can. I’m ready for it.”

The 31-year-old Bote admitted over the last couple of years that he had thoughts in both camps – that he would make it back to the big leagues again and also spent time believing the door might be closed.

With Triple-A Iowa this year, Bote was hitting .259/.342/.546 (.888 OPS) with 7 homers and 15 RBI in 28 games.

When he found out he was getting the call, it led to a moment he’ll never forget with his teammates in Iowa, where he has become a leader and mentor over the past few years.

Iowa manager Marty Pevey called Bote into his office on Saturday to deliver the good news and when Bote went back into the clubhouse to start packing his gear, his teammates asked him what was going on.

“That was the moment that kind of got me a little bit emotional,” Bote said. “Every single one of those guys were hooping and hollering and came and gave me a big hug and saying all these nice things about it.

“That moment to me – it felt like a debut type of thing. It really did.”

The Cubs have been searching for a spark on offense over the last month and believe Bote can help provide one, particularly against left-handed pitchers. It’s why he got the start Sunday at third base while Christopher Morel was at DH.

Craig Counsell managed against Bote for his whole career and has seen what he can provide for a team like the Cubs.

“I’ve always thought David was just a solid IQ baseball player and then offensively, he hits the ball really hard, which is one of the really important things in offense, especially today,” Counsell said. “And when you say that, that’s damage. So he has the ability to do damage in this park.

“And the time of year we’re getting to, that’s an important thing to be able to do, frankly – hit the ball out of the park. … So that’s what we’re looking for. I mean, I’m asking him to hit home runs. That’s a difficult request. But that’s kind of his thing that he’s able to do is being be a good offensive player, I think especially against left handed pitching.”

On the other end, sending Madrigal down is a move precipitated by some struggles from the infielder.

Madrigal appeared in 51 games this season but much of that was in a part-time role as either a late defensive substitution or pinch-hitter. He hit just .221 with a .280 on-base percentage and .256 slugging percentage with 3 doubles and 10 RBI in 94 plate appearances.

The Cubs believe there is a better version of Madrigal in there and sent the 27-year-old down to the minors to help get back on track.

“I think offensively there’s a better player in there,” Counsell said. “He’s a unique player in the game today in that he’s batting average-driven. And that’s hard to do in today’s game.

“But there still has to be some of the other things. There has to be some walk in there. There has to be some slug in there. That’s how you get to offensive value. There needs to be a little bit more of that.”

As for Alzolay, the move to the 60-day IL is simply procedural. He is working through a forearm injury and is currently in a shutdown phase, so he is still a ways from a return.