The Cubs were incredibly hurt. One morning after manager Craig Counsell announced that a hamstring strain is sending him off Edward Cabrera On the injured list, Chicago is now placed Ben Brown on IL for 15 days due to neck strain. The Cubs made both of those IL placements official with a press release. On the corresponding motion slide, remember the right hand Gavin Hollowell at Triple-A, opted for a veteran right-hander’s contract Vince Velasquez from Iowa (as already reported this morning) and it was voted OK Eduarniel Núñez by share. Chicago also drafted a righty Tyler Ferguson as their 27th man in today’s doubleheader.
Brown and Cabrera join Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Late Horton again Justin Steele as rotation options on Chicago’s injured list. Horton is out for the season, and Steele is not expected to return as a starter; president of baseball ops Jed Hoyer said yesterday that if Steele returns at all, it could be a relief later in the year.
If there is one silver lining, it’s that Boyd is expected to be cleared to start tomorrow’s game, according to Marquee’s Taylor McGregor. That will give Counsell a mix of rotations that include Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Colin Rea again Javier Assad.
Brown, 26, has been a savior for the Cubs amid a string of injuries this season. He entered the trade in early May after an impressive six-week run in the bullpen and has started eight games with a 1.70 ERA. After pitching four innings to start that shift, Brown pitched in the sixth of his last five innings, finishing six of three frames and striking out seven. Along the way, he has walked an average of 22.5% of his opponents against a systematic walk rate of 6.3%.
The Cubs have not given a timetable for Brown’s possible return. His IL designation will go back to June 21st, so he could “only” be sidelined for another 12 days if the injury appears to be minor in nature, but that’s a best-case scenario and not based on anything the Cubs have said so far.
More to come.
