A challenging 24-hour stretch proved to have greater consequences than only in the standings for the Chicago Cubs.
After dropping the first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs placed arguably their most consistent starter and reliever on the 15-day injured list before Wednesday’s series finale. Left-hander Justin Steele went on the IL with left elbow tendinitis while right-hander Jorge López landed on the IL because of a right groin strain. Right-handers Jack Neely and Trey Wingenter were recalled to take the injured pitchers’ roster spots.
The Cubs had debated whether Steele would OK to pitch if they skipped a start, but the additional 24 hours of rest didn’t help. Steele still was symptomatic Wednesday and unable to throw. Manager Craig Counsell is hopeful Steele will require only a minimum stint on the IL, though the next 10 days will be important to that goal.
“Justin’s going to pitch if he’s healthy, and that’s kind of how we’re progressing right now,” Counsell said. “That’s what’s Justin’s interested in. He’s not going to pitch if he’s not healthy so that’s how it’s going to work.
“If we can get him back to normal, then he’s going to pitch.”
With 25 days left in the season, it doesn’t leave a huge window for Steele to return, and there might be an argument for Steele to shut down if the Cubs are not in wild-card contention when he might near a return. There can be value, however, in Steele getting back into games regardless of the team’s record. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy believes it’s important for Steele to come back and get peace of mind that he feels good and could pitch for another month if he needed to, calling that “an important step.”
“I think it’s important to get a good read of where this thing is — he’s going to be throwing bullpens, hopefully he’ll get in a game or two to be able to get a read on how it’s feeling, if he’s over the hump or not,” Hottovy told the Tribune on Wednesday. “When it’s like something like this, like a tendinitis or something that’s minor, but they’re nagging, it’s not really going to go away until you stop throwing. We know where we are in the season, at some point, when we’re done playing as a team, he’s going to get that break. So just how do you navigate that?”
López’s injury is a blow for a bullpen that had been pitching well with the veteran a big piece of their success since joining the Cubs in late June. López initially suffered the right groin strain Aug. 26 while shagging balls during batting practice at PNC Park. The Cubs gave López a couple of days to recover as Counsell was able to stay away from using him until Saturday at Nationals Park. López struggled Monday against the Pirates, who took the lead in the eighth behind four runs, including two home runs, off the right-hander.
López felt pretty good while pitching Monday night, Counsell said Wednesday, but was sore Tuesday and potentially wasn’t going to be able to pitch the rest of the week. The Cubs felt giving López time to rest was the best approach.
Nagging injuries can be tough to navigate, and teams must rely on feedback from players. Hottovy explained teams then take that information to combine with data and what they’re seeing from the player to try to make the best decision on when a banged-up player can stay on the field versus needing an IL stint.
“A lot of times, guys are like, ‘I feel like I’m getting close, I’m not quite there today, I feel like I’ll be good tomorrow,’ and then they get to tomorrow, it’s, ‘OK, I feel better but not,’ ” Hottovy said. “So it’s just a tough thing to navigate because with the 15-day IL now for pitchers, you don’t want to just make that decision. If you can wait a couple days and see how it progresses, it really helps.
“(Monday) night his stuff was good, the velo was up, he just didn’t feel like his execution was where to be. And so at some point you have to be like, hey, it’s not progressing. If you feel like you’re not 100% you’re hurting yourself or hurting the team, then we need to make a different decision. But it’s never exact science how you handle those situations.”
