Although this season hasn’t been particularly positive for the Cubs on the big league level, it has been relatively injury-free. It feels like a while since I’ve busted out the Wrath Watch.
Unfortunately, the wrath came back around and landed squarely inside Welington Castillo’s knee yesterday, where he said he felt “sharp pain” while running out a grounder. He was pulled from the game, and will be examined by the team doctor today. Hopefully the injury is not serious.
Heading into the offseason, you’re slightly less concerned about a knee injury than you would be in, say, April. But a catcher’s knees are his lifeblood, and Castillo had emerged this year as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. He’s become a relatively significant part of the Cubs’ near-term rebuilding efforts – there is a cavernous vacuum of terrifying and silent space behind him in the farm system – and it would suck if this injury caused lingering problems.
For now, we put those worries aside, though, and hope that it’s just a minor booboo.