Willson Contreras’s rehab assignment at Iowa is over, and the Cubs’ starting catcher is back with the big league team. Good to see him back and feeling better. Here’s hoping he still gets plenty of rest throughout September.
He’ll be taking the roster spot of righty Keegan Thompson:
The #Cubs today activated catcher Willson Contreras from the 10-day IL and placed RHP Keegan Thompson on the 10-day IL (retroactive to 9/3) with right shoulder inflammation. pic.twitter.com/ZL5QwgukM9
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 4, 2021
Thompson, who has struggled as a newly-remade starter for the Cubs, mentioned after his last unsuccessful outing that he was just having atypical trouble with his control and mechanics. I hope that the Cubs are then giving him a chance to rest and reset a bit, rather than this being a serious shoulder injury. Sometimes that’s all that “inflammation” designation means, since almost every player has something inflamed by the time September rolls around.
And to that point, actually, we all have to remember that Thompson is ramping way up compared to the innings he’s thrown the last two years (injury and then pandemic). It would not have been surprising that he would battle some physical stuff late in the year.
In any case, hopefully he can come back later in the month and maybe make a couple starts to close out the year, and keep himself in that depth starting mix for 2022, or at least a swing-man possibility.