NEWSLETTER
For the first time in a while, we’ve got some new injury news for the Cubs, and it’s mostly good news.
Jordan Bastian sent out the full rundown:
A handful of injury updates on the Cubs here⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Gnnui4y5Z4
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) November 12, 2021
The bad news first is the timeline on David Bote’s recovery from shoulder surgery, which is as bad as expected. Six months out from late October would be late April, and he’s not likely to be returning to big league action at that time, so you can bet it’ll be a May or later return, and without the benefit of a normal Spring Training. It’s just not what you wanted to see for a guy who was already leaving open questions about whether he’s still a fit on the bench (but who is under contract for three more years). Hopefully he can still return and show that he’s a useful bench piece by the end of next year. All I’m realistically hoping for.
The other bit of bad news is the Brendon Little injury. I can’t speak to his injury, specifically, but here’s the gist on “stress reactions” in a pitcher’s elbow: it’s usually an irritation in the bone, caused by the repetitive pitching motion where something in there is rubbing in a way it shouldn’t be. Sometimes it’s bone spurs, sometimes it’s nerve-related, and sometimes it’s ligament-related. The recovery is rest and rehab, assuming no surgery is needed, but the timelines vary wildly. Hence shutting him down completely for six weeks – during which time you hope the reaction/inflammation subsides completely – and then you can better re-evaluate what’s going on and what the plan should be. It really stinks for a guy who was seeming to break out, finally, as a reliever this year at Double-A and Triple-A. I’m not sure he’ll have a normal Spring Training ramp up at this point, and that’s assuming this doesn’t become a surgical situation.
The rest of the updates are good news, relatively speaking (including the fact that there are no other new surprise injuries to update). Jason Heyward’s scary concussion stuff is behind him. Brad Wieck’s heart procedure went well and all is good. Brailyn Marquez is status quo from last check – still throwing, still expected to be ready for a normal Spring Training. Alfonso Rivas shouldn’t have his offseason plan impacted too much.
By the way, this provides an opportunity to drop a note: if the owners initiate a lockout on December 2, team facilities will be shut down for players on the 40-man roster. I believe that means no team-directed rehab, among other things. You’d hate to see that for injured players in the middle of their offseason when they’re trying to get ready for the next Spring Training.
