When asked if he was healthy after last night’s game – the latest awful outing – Edwin Jackson told reporters, essentially, that he wasn’t going to make any excuses, and everyone is dealing with something.
Well, he is dealing with something, and it’s a lat strain that sends him to the disabled list. Whether you’re cynical about the move or not, it doesn’t really matter. The Cubs now have a rotation opening into which they can insert today’s partial-game starter Jacob Turner, or perhaps Felix Doubront (who is expected to make his Cubs debut on August 30 as part of a doubleheader – that’s exactly 10 days after Jackson’s last start), or maybe Dan Straily.
For now, Zac Rosscup returns from Iowa to replace Jackson on the roster and bolster the bullpen for today’s kinda-sorta doubleheader.
On the positional side, Starlin Castro has been placed on the bereavement list, which is three to seven days. All the best to him and his family as they try to get through the accident in the DR, in which a cousin and three friends of Castro’s were reportedly killed.
Taking Castro’s spot on the roster is utility man Logan Watkins, once a fast riser in the Cubs’ system, but who hasn’t quite put it all together in the last two years. He’s currently hitting .256/.329/.364 for AAA Iowa.