The Cubs have a trio of players headed to the Injured List today (Nico Hoerner, Jake Arrieta, and Dan Winkler), and another (Ian Happ) whose status is still being determined. It’s not great!
But at least the Cubs aren’t inclined to think it’ll be serious overall:
“We’re optimistic,” Cubs manager David Ross said, addressing injuries involving Jake Arrieta, Nico Hoerner and Dan Winkler. Ross pointed to the days off scheduled for Thursday, May 10 and May 13. “It gives us the chance to maximize the rest time without missing too many games.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) May 4, 2021
On Arrieta, it’s just a matter of getting the cut on his thumb healed fully so that he can be at his best:
Jake Arrieta couldn’t get a good feel for his cutter with the abrasion on his right thumb. Cubs manager David Ross said the team is being cautious, given the breaks coming up in the schedule: “Missing a start makes a lot of sense to get that thing healthy.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) May 4, 2021
As for Hoerner, he started to feel the forearm issue more yesterday than right after the collision on Sunday – that day-after-feeling is common – but he’s optimistic he’ll be back when his stint is up:
Nico Hoerner, on going on 10-day IL:
"I personally very much expect to be back playing against Detroit when I can next play. I think it's a mid-season chance to really, fully get my body under me in all ways. And I'm going to take advantage of that as best I can."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 4, 2021
I have not yet seen any specifics on Winkler (triceps tendinitis), so my hope is that it’s just a matter of giving him some rest and rotating the bullpen a bit. He was throwing serious heat this weekend.
Meanwhile, Ian Happ is not dealing with a concussion, and it is instead his ribs that took the worst of it. We’ll see how he’s feeling today. From Ross, and from Hoerner on the collision:
Ian Happ's injury is a rib contusion after the collision with Hoerner, Ross says. He is not in concussion protocol.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) May 4, 2021
Here’s Nico Hoerner, on his collision with Ian Happ during Sunday’s game. Hoerner is on IL with a forearm issue. Happ has rib soreness, but came through concussion testing OK. pic.twitter.com/EifTvDx8yM
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 4, 2021