What had been a precautionary approach to keep left fielder Ian Happ out of the Chicago Cubs lineup for the last two games in New York has now extended into the homestand.
Happ was out of the lineup again for Monday’s series opener against the Miami Marlins, missing his third straight game because of a sore oblique muscle he initially experienced during a swing in his first at-bat Friday against the Mets. Although he stayed in through the end of the game, Happ hasn’t played since, with Seiya Suzuki starting in left field and Pete Crow-Armstrong leading off in his absence.
Happ was slated to ramp up activity Monday, manager Craig Counsell said, after not doing much the previous two days to let the soreness dissipate.
“Frankly, we’re going to be cautious with this, obviously,” Counsell said. “And I think he’s just trying to figure out, what is it? Is it nothing? Is it something? And so we gave it two days of very little activity and see what he feels like today.”
Counsell initially indicated Saturday there wasn’t concern the ailment would require time on the injured list. That might no longer be the case, depending on how Happ feels in the next day or two.
“As the days go here, if we have symptoms still, then we have to start talking about (the IL), yes,” Counsell said Monday.
Justin Turner struggling to get on track
More at-bats the last few days hasn’t helped veteran Justin Turner get on track offensively.
Turner entered Monday 9-for-58 (.155) this season with no extra-base hits. He started three of the last four games but went hitless in nine at-bats while drawing two walks and striking out twice.
Turner, 40, is experiencing the highest strikeout rate of his career (22.9%), and the typically good fastball hitter hasn’t been able to produce his typical power against the pitch.
Counsell opted to start Carson Kelly at designated hitter Monday after using Turner there the previous two games with Suzuki in left field.
“Right now, he’s missing pitches that he needs to hit,” Counsell said. “The big leagues, if you get a pitch to hit, you’re probably not going to get another pitch to hit that at-bat.
“And if you foul it off, which I think has been the case for Justin, you’re battling, right? You’re kind of behind, so it’s a simple thing to say, now how do you change that, and how do you hit those pitches?”
Counsell acknowledged that answering those questions can be challenging when it could be a mechanical issue within Turner’s swing or the lack of regular at-bats because of his bench role. The Cubs need more, though, out of Turner, whom they signed for $4 million with a $10 million mutual option and $2 million buyout for 2026.
Of the 304 big-league hitters with at least 70 plate appearances this year, Turner is one of only two (the Minnesota Twins’ Jonah Bride is the other) not to record an extra-base hit.
“He’s going to keep working at it, and we’ll try to get him going,” Counsell said.
Injury updates on Shota Imanaga, other Cubs pitchers
Shota Imanaga hoped to keep his arm and shoulder moving while sidelined on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain.
So far, the left-hander has not had any issue playing catch as he looks to maintain the muscle and strength he built. There isn’t a definitive timeline for how soon Imanaga could return from the injury, which he suffered attempting to cover first base during the sixth inning May 4 in Milwaukee.
“I’ve had no worries about if it’s going to heal or not,” Imanaga told the Tribune on Sunday through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “Walking around day to day, it feels fine. There’s no compensation patterns or anything like that. But I think because it happened on a specific movement, we need to go back, look at it and kind of work on that.”
Imanaga won’t attempt to test his hamstring by throwing off a mound within the first two weeks of the injury, Counsell said Sunday.
Right-hander Tyson Miller, a key pickup for the bullpen last year, appeared to be getting close to coming off the IL with eight rehab appearances for Triple-A Iowa. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said Wednesday that Miller (left hip impingement) was trying to get his delivery fully locked in and felt he was close.
However, Miller took a hard liner off his leg in his last outing Friday, Counsell said, and he still is being evaluated, which could mean pausing his rehab assignment.
Counsell did not have an updated timeline on right-hander Javier Assad, who suffered a setback by aggravating his left oblique strain during his second rehab start for Iowa on April 22. Counsell said Assad has not restarted throwing. He initially injured his oblique at the beginning of February before pitchers and catchers officially reported to camp.
