Well that’s not the arm I thought the Cubs would be moving out to accommodate Caleb Kilian today. Mostly because I didn’t expect an injury.
Today, the Cubs officially called up starter Caleb Kilian, who faces the Marlins today. To make room on the 26-man roster, lefty Brandon Hughes has been placed on the Injured List with left knee inflammation, retroactive to April 27.
Hughes, 27, has been dealing with this knee issue going back to Spring Training, when it delayed his start to the season. The way it was described made it seem like something of a bone-on-bone chronic condition that has to be managed (I am not using those terms medically, just kinda how it sounded to me). So I don’t know if it’s more concerning that this has popped up twice in such a short time, or if this is part of that management.
The Cubs were operating with nine in the bullpen before this move, so when Kilian is – presumably – optioned back down to Iowa tomorrow, the Cubs could call up an extra position player to take his spot until Jameson Taillon is ready to come off the IL.