NEWSLETTER
The starting lineup tonight does not feature leadoff man and second baseman Nico Hoerner, who exited last night’s game due to left hamstring tightness. But Hoerner is not going on the Injured List just yet, so we have a little positivity to hope on for now.
Per Hoerner, imagine revealed a mild strain in the hamstring, but the team is holding off on an IL move for now:
Fingers crossed.
That sounds awfully familiar to scenarios we’ve seen play out before over the years, though, where something nagging just winds up lasting longer than anyone publicly expected. Maybe I’m just fatalistic when it comes to Cubs injuries, but *usually* even mild hamstring strains wind up requiring at least a minimum IL stay.
For now, the Cubs will intentionally play shorthanded on the hope that Hoerner gets over a mild hamstring strain in just a day or two or three. Anything beyond that, and they cannot fully backdate his 10-day IL stint, and they will have already sacrificed bench depth for a few days. Here’s hoping it plays out in the best possible way, because being without Hoerner for any amount of time is bad news. If it does come down to an IL stint, though, I hope it happens sooner rather than later, and is for the minimum stay.
For tonight, Christopher Morel takes over at second base, while Nick Madrigal (currently hitting .258/.292/.323/70 wRC+) takes over in the leadoff spot for some reason.
