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I don’t like how frequent “minor” injuries to the Cubs seemingly get worse after a couple days. I guess it’s not time to completely panic, but after the Cubs said they weren’t worried about Kyle Hendricks, placing him on the 10-day injured list, now ESPN’s Jesse Rogers is reporting that the team could shut down Hendricks through the All-Star Break.
The Cubs put Hendricks on the injured list following Friday’s start against the Dodgers. At the time, he along with Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon didn’t think Hendricks would miss more than the 10 required days on the injured list.
Earlier on Tuesday, Maddon even said that if this was late in the season, Hendricks wouldn’t be on the IL with his shoulder inflammation.
Then, a little more than an hour before Tuesday night’s game against the White Sox, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said tests revealed an impingement for Hendricks that was apparently caught early.
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Rogers adds that it’s unclear how long Hendricks will be out for.
Ugh…OK. So, maybe he still does return after 10 days, or the Cubs play it extra cautious. Still, the tune has changed after the weekend, when no one was worried about an extended absence for Hendricks.
But this sure does sound like Hendricks will be out longer than the 10 days.
Tyler Chatwood will fill in for Hendricks against the Mets on Thursday. Maddon said nothing else has been finalized beyond that spot start and the Cubs manager also talked about the chance of going to a six-man rotation.
The Cubs play 17 games in a row without a day off and 19 games in 20 days leading up to the All-Star Game.
Let’s hope the next Hendricks update isn’t as troubling as this one.
The only positive out of this situation? Cubs pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay may just end up getting called up in the next couple weeks.
