So Many Injuries, Nico Promotion, Strop Realistic but Hopeful, Iowa and South Bend, and Other Cubs Bullets

Sep 09, 2019

It’s a crazy morning right now, with Nico Hoerner coming up and Dave Dombrowski out in Boston. Gotta rumble through the Bullets, though …

That Nico Hoerner news comes against the backdrop of Javy Baez’s broken thumb – he’s seeing a specialist today – and Addison Russell entering the concussion protocol:

The Cubs' Addison Russell suffered a nasal bruise and was under examination for a potential concussion after getting beaned in the third inning Sunday.

In a worst-case scenario, “it’s sub-optimal,” manager Joe Maddon said.https://t.co/okeuJmSc3h

— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) September 9, 2019

Given the Hoerner promotion, it seems like Russell might miss some time. Even if he doesn’t, I would be shocked to see Hoerner come up in a situation like this and not start virtually every day. He is coming up to start. That is the point of the promotion. In the meantime, you nevertheless want Russell to get healthy again as quickly as possible, because a lack of shortstop depth is a lack of shortstop depth, and the organization clearly doesn’t believe David Bote can be a regular starter there.

It’s nice to have the opportunity for Hoerner to get some big league exposure right now anyway, since he was highly likely to be a contributor in some way next season. That said, I’m not sure losing your top two shortstops – the first of whom is one of your most important players overall – is the dream scenario for Hoerner to get this exposure. But it’s the reality of the situation, and the Cubs have decided the exposure plus Hoerner’s upside is better than, for example, bringing up a guy like Zack Short or letting David Bote try to manage at short.

More on Hoerner later today ahead of his debut in San Diego laaaaate tonight. 10pm ET for me! I guess I better double up on coffee this afternoon.

The call-up is a reminder of just how injured/out-of-whack the Cubs are because of injuries: Javy Baez is out, Addison Russell is out, Kris Bryant is still missing time because of his knee, Craig Kimbrel is out, Brandon Morrow is invisible, Yu Darvish is limited, Cole Hamels is still a post-injury mess, Pedro Strop has been a post-injury mess …

Speaking of which, Pedro Strop is hopeful that he’s getting back to where he needs to be:

Amid trying season, Pedro Strop believes he's 'on the cusp' of returning to formhttps://t.co/wXn9h2C5ko

— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) September 9, 2019

I appreciate very much that Strop totally gets the reality of the situation: “Yeah, it’s been a hard year for me on and off because of injuries and stuff. It’s been a while where I’ve felt really good now and I feel healthy. I was off a little bit mechanics-wise, but right now, I feel pretty good and my last couple outings have been where I want to be. Hopefully I get a chance and an opportunity to get in the game so I can pitch the way I used to pitch so they can see and say, ‘OK, he’s ready to be in high-leverage situations again.'”

With three weeks left in the season, Strop would probably have to put together a trio of consecutive holy-shit-that-looked-like-PEDRO appearances in order for Joe Maddon to feel like he could risk Strop out there in the 8th inning of a game against the Cardinals in the final series of the year, for example, let alone the postseason. Then again, with Craig Kimbrel hurt and questions otherwise at the back of the bullpen, maybe the leash on taking a shot on Strop will be shorter, since it’s kinda like whatever already at this point?

Speaking of those late-inning options, Craig Kimbrel (elbow) threw on flat ground this weekend, so there remains reason to hope he can be back on Thursday.

You could not possibly throw a worse 3-1 pitch to a young pinch hitter:

https://twitter.com/fswisconsin/status/1170785379143667712

The South Bend Cubs punched their ticket to the Midwest League championship with another win:

@SBCubs in the Championship Series! Games 1 and 2 are Wednesday and Thursday nights, this week in South Bend! @SBTribune @PeteButtigieg @WNDU @WSBT @ABC57News @FOX28News @DTSouthBend @Cubs pic.twitter.com/QOcm2Y8Oib
— Andrew T. Berlin (@AndrewTBerlin) September 9, 2019

https://twitter.com/Casey_Ace18/status/1170893723682693121

Man, I hope they win that championship. Not only is it fun, but it’s a great experience for these young players – heck, just reaching the championship is great for their development. Speaking of which, in that championship game, Brennen Davis had two hits including a double (because of course), and Cole Roederer walked three times (because of course).

Unfortunately the Iowa Cubs couldn’t pull off the series comeback, dropping game five last night and seeing their very, very successful season come to an end.

There are other Deals of the Day today, but man the home arcade Street Fighter is screaming BUY MEEEE, THE WIFE WILL BE FINE WITH IT, STICK IT IN THE CORNER SOMEWHERE …

The Bears definitely needed another breakout stud on defense:

You know who was awesome on Thursday? And who is probably gonna continue to be awesome?

Leonard Floyd: https://t.co/FlI1J3xfUP pic.twitter.com/AMPGP1B0Aq

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 9, 2019

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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So Many Injuries, Nico Promotion, Strop Realistic but Hopeful, Iowa and South Bend, and Other Cubs Bullets

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