As the Cubs continue to fight for a place in the National League wild-card conversation, they had to come to terms with major losses to the pitching staff Wednesday.
Left-hander Justin Steele (tendonitis in left elbow) and high-leverage reliever Jorge Lopez (strained right groin) were put on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Sunday and Tuesday, respectively. The injuries sidelined two of the team’s most reliable arms, one at the front end and the other at the back end of the pitching equation.
“Not ideal,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. “Not ideal for the timing, where we are in the season. But that’s one thing that our team has proven that we can do, is we can be resilient. We can find other guys that can step up and pitch in big moments.”
In corresponding moves, the Cubs recalled a pair of towering right-handed relievers: Trey Wingenter, who was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox last month, and rookie Jack Neely.
The Cubs are hopeful that Steele and Lopez could return after minimum IL stints, about two weeks before the end of the season.
After getting back promising initial results from Steele’s imaging Tuesday morning, the Cubs left open the possibility of him avoiding the IL altogether. But he was still symptomatic Wednesday and not ready to test his arm with catch play. Now they’re targeting Friday for Steele to resume throwing.
“The next 10 days will be important here, and we’ll see what that brings,” manager Craig Counsell said. “If we can get him back to normal, then he’s going to pitch.”
For Lopez, the recovery process won’t require much time off from throwing, which could lend itself to a quick ramp up.
“We’ve just got to get him, again, symptom-free,” Counsell said, “and confident in the pushing off the mound part.”
This time of year is a delicate dance between health and performance, for pitchers especially. Some level of soreness and discomfort is widespread. Steele and Lopez had been trying to pitch through their injuries.
Lopez was sidelined in Pittsburgh last week, and with that rest, he was able to pitch Saturday against the Nationals and Monday against the Pirates. Though Lopez allowed four runs and was credited with the loss Monday, Counsell said the right-hander felt fine pitching. His recovery was what raised concern.
Steele had been dealing with elbow discomfort on and off for five or six starts, Hottovy estimated.
“He’s a guy that will grind through not feeling good — and most guys do,” Hottovy said. “It just gets to a point sometimes where you’re like, ‘OK, I need to figure out what’s going on because it’s not getting better.’ ”
The Cubs have enough arms to fill in. But when it’s one of the team’s best starters and best relievers landing on the IL, replacing them at this pivotal point in the season requires more than filling innings.
Left-hander Jordan Wicks’ return from the 60-day IL on Sunday helped the Cubs keep all five rotation spots filled. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks pitched in Steele’s place Tuesday.
“We’ve been pitching so good, hopefully we can make up [for the loss of Steele],” Hendricks said after limiting the Pirates to two runs in five innings. “But obviously we need him back, and hopefully he can just keep going.”
Lopez took on more responsibility when the Cubs released closer Héctor Neris two weeks ago. Now the cycle will continue with Porter Hodge continuing to step into high-leverage spots and others, including Tyson Miller, Nate Pearson, Keegan Thompson, Ethan Roberts and Drew Smyly, in the mix.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to stay afloat here during that time,” Hottovy said, “but we have guys that are continuing to step up and are ready for some bigger moments.”
