Cubs left fielder Ian Happ was scratched from Sunday’s lineup with left shoulder soreness after a collision with the outfield wall while trying to catch right fielder Tommy Pham’s triple in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Cardinals.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said pregame that Happ was in the lineup before being scratched almost an hour before first pitch.
“I mean he was if you go back look at it, he hit that wall pretty darn hard,” Counsell said pregame. “So his left side is sore.”
Happ has been one of the Cubs’ best hitters this season. The left fielder is tied with the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte for the second-most RBIs in the majors since May 26. His 15 homers over that span are tied for 10th in the majors and fourth in the National League.
Entering Sunday’ game, Happ leads the team in RBIs (62), is second on the Cubs in homers (17) and has the highest hard-contact rate on the team (37.7%) despite a .228 batting average.
The Cubs can survive an extended absence from Happ by switching Mike Tauchman to left field, but he doesn’t possess the same power as Happ.
‘Mistakes are learning opportunities’
The Cubs are technically still in playoff contention. Entering Sunday’s game, the club is 6 ½ games back of a National League wild-card spot. But the team’s priorities have shifted after a trade deadline that saw president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer trade reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to the Yankees and third baseman Christopher Morel to the Rays while acquiring third baseman Isaac Paredes and reliever Nate Pearson, showing that the front office is more concerned with 2025 than the remaining two months of the season.
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s egregious misplay on Saturday — in which he called off second baseman Nico Hoerner to attempt a sliding catch in center field — played a huge part in the team blowing a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning on Saturday.
Counsell acknowledged the play “unfortunately contributed to a big play in the game that ultimately cost us two runs.” But because the Cubs dug themselves a hole with their lackluster play from May until the trade deadline, the playoffs are already a long shot — Fangraphs gives them a 2.7% chance at clinching a wild-card spot — development can take precedence.
The Cubs still hold Crow-Armstrong in high regard. They understand that the mistake can’t happen again and that as a rookie, he has to experience those low points to grow. When the Cubs called up Crow-Armstrong last season, the team was in the thick of a playoff race. They couldn’t afford to endure his growing pains last season, but given the team’s lackluster play, there’s more opportunities for the center fielder.
For the Cubs to succeed in 2025, they’ll need Crow-Armstrong to apply lessons learned from this season.
“I think mistakes are learning opportunities,” Counsell said. “You have to treat the mistakes as an opportunity to coach and as an opportunity to learn.”
This and that
- Reliever Hayden Wesneski (right forearm strain) played catch on Friday and Saturday.
- Catcher Tomas Nido traveled to Arizona Sunday to continue his rehab.
- Reliever Keegan Thompson (rib fracture) threw an eight-pitch inning on Saturday.