WASHINGTON — Left-hander Jordan Wicks’ return to the Chicago Cubs could be coming sooner than initially anticipated.
Wicks was scheduled to make another rehab start Friday with Triple-A Iowa but was scratched because there is a scenario in which he will start this weekend against the Washington Nationals, manager Craig Counsell said before Friday’s series opener.
“We’ve got to play it out a couple days and see what happens,” Counsell said. “We want to keep that option available.”
If Wicks — out since June 14 because of an an oblique injury — slots in Saturday or Sunday at Nationals Park, the Cubs rotation likely will be reshuffled. Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon are scheduled to start the next two games. Counsell didn’t want to delve too much into the scenarios.
“We have a little uncertainty with who’s exactly going to pitch which day,” Counsell said. “We’re going to just kind of leave it like that for now. I mean, that puts Kyle (Hendricks) in some uncertainty right now. That’s where we’ll kind of be until we just play the game and then get make a decision when we have to.”
One possibility, though, potentially comes at the expense Hendricks, who could be skipped on his upcoming turn next week. The Cubs could opt to start left-hander Shota Imanaga on normal rest as they try to make a push up the National League wild-card standings. As long as the Cubs remain close with enough games left — they entered Friday five games behind the Atlanta Braves for the last playoff spot — they are not planning to skip starts or or suppress pitchers’ innings as some reach career highs.
“We’re not in that mode,” Counsell said. “Don’t want to be in that mode. Look, we’re going to be chasing. You just want to chase as long as you can and get it to that last week and still have a chance. That means we’re going to go hard.”
The Cubs needed some length from Imanaga on Friday night with a short bullpen. Porter Hodge is coming off heavy usage Wednesday and Daniel Palencia throwing 20-plus pitches in each of their last two games in addition to Jorge López and Ethan Roberts being banged up the previous series.
They got some good news, though. It appears López will be available to pitch in this weekend’s series. He hasn’t been used since hurting his groin during batting practice Monday at PNC Park, making him unavailable for their three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He threw a bullpen Friday that went well, and Counsell expressed optimism he will pitch against the Nationals. Roberts reported his right ankle was nearly symptom-free after exiting Wednesday’s game.
The Cubs also added some relief help Friday by claiming right-hander Shawn Armstrong off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. Veteran catcher Tomás Nido was released to make room on the 40-man roster. Armstrong was not active for Friday’s game but is expected to join the Cubs this weekend.
Armstrong, 33, posted a 2.84 ERA in 11 appearances with the Cardinals before they designated him for assignment. St. Louis acquired Armstrong from the Tampa Bay Rays before the trade deadline.