NEWSLETTER
A few mostly-not-negative Chicago Cubs injury updates for you today, so that’s a plus, right?
First, Justin Steele (general arm fatigue) threw a bullpen successfully, and it might just be a one-start-skipped situation:
Justin Steele, a guy who is very much set into his rotation spot, missing a start at the very beginning of Spring Training is totally no big deal. It is very common for guys to miss early starts in the spring and go on to have a completely normal open to the season.
So long as Steele actually does make the next start and throw his two innings without issue, then I think we can basically just forget this even happened.
As for Patrick Wisdom, he’s been scratched a couple times with a groin issue, and it sounds like it’s one of those right-on-the-border situations:
Although Wisdom doesn’t necessarily have a sure-fire specific starting spot locked down, I think we’d all agree that he’s a strong favorite for a roster spot. It would take an unexpected situation around Wisdom – several other third base options looking incredible, everyone else being perfectly healthy, needing to carry an extra outfielder, whatever – for him not to make the team out of camp. So, against that backdrop, I’m sure there’s even more caution about not using him right now.
So, even though this is an “injury” situation, I don’t know that there’s much cause for concern.
Elsewhere, Cody Bellinger returns to the lineup today after sitting with an illness, and unfortunately for non-roster invitee Jordan Holloway, his removal the other day was injury-related:
Holloway, 26, has had a little success in the big leagues already (Marlins), and was in the big annual pool of hard-throwing, reclamation-type arms for the Cubs. The injury means he’s going to have to sit for a while, and his chances of winning a job to open the season are probably about zero now. Nonetheless, that was already probably the case, and he can continue working with the staff on into the regular season at Iowa if the Cubs still want to see what they can do.
