If you missed it yesterday, I’m dealing with some more-serious-than-I-realized back issues, and it’s making it very difficult to do normal things until I get it sorted out. There are stretches of time when I generally feel fine and undisturbed, and there are stretches where sitting (or laying) and trying to write feels impossible. I’m going to keep trying to keep the coverage as close to normal as possible because it’s what I WANT to do, but please understand if I’m just not quite as responsive or prompt as I usually am.
- Speaking of injuries, I expect we’re going to hear about Justin Steele’s hamstring today when the media arrives at the ballpark to talk to Craig Counsell. Based on the manager’s comments after Thursday’s game, I don’t expect to be in for good news. A “mild” hamstring strain would be bad enough, but anything worse than that and I’m gonna be fetal for a little while. You simply could not pick a more perfect player to hit with the injury stick if you were really trying to hurt the 2024 Chicago Cubs.
- Either way, we know an Injured List stint is coming, and we know Steele’s next time up in the rotation comes on Wednesday. So, barring a weather-impacted game early next week (certainly possible), the Cubs will need a fill-in starter. The Cubs could go short-term with a one-off start (optioning a pair of relievers up and down around that start in order to steal a free arm for the bullpen for 10 days bookending the start), or they could more strictly insert someone into the rotation starting Wednesday, until Jameson Taillon is ready to go in a few weeks (hopefully). The latter is my guess, though there are certainly ways to get creative (and more so if Steele is going to miss 60+ days and could go on the 60-day IL, which is something I’m deeply sorry for even saying out loud).
- As for who that starter will be (potentially after a reliever is added for the four games UNTIL Wednesday), it could depend on how the next few days shake out. For example, if Drew Smyly is needed heavily out of the bullpen this weekend, it won’t be him. Also, if Hayden Wesneski or Ben Brown make starts at Iowa this weekend, that would take them out, too. Thomas Pannone, who threw five strong innings for Iowa last night in the opener would be the guy on rest for Wednesday, for what that’s worth. He has big league experience, but he is not on the 40-man roster.
- All that said, any chance Tommy Birch was giving a clue here:
- Of all the options, Ben Brown would certainly be the most exciting. You wouldn’t want him coming up and feeling like he has to “replace” Justin Steele, but you know he’s going to get big league exposure at some point this year anyway, and you know he has premium stuff. Maybe you just say what the heck and give him a few starts right now, asking only that he go a couple times through the order each time, with an understanding that it’s a limited stint and there are no expectations for him to try to prove anything. Just compete, be yourself, give the team innings, learn some things to take back to Iowa when Taillon/Steele return, and that’s it.
- The Caleb Kilian shoulder injury sure is a bummer in timing for him right about now, because he otherwise would’ve been in the mix to get a shot, too.
- Presently, the rotation lines up to go Kyle Hendricks tonight, Jordan Wicks tomorrow, Shota Imanaga on Monday, and Javier Assad on Tuesday.
- This is just a set of small, relatively mundane interactions, but this is pretty darn interesting:
- I chuckle at the idea that one of Shota Imanaga’s impressions of MLB is that guys get in brawls all the time, and Seiya Suzuki is basically like, yeah, it’s because everyone gets so excited and doesn’t try to stop it right away like in Japan. Probably a pretty good point, since I can’t remember the last time I saw a really good rumble video from an NPB game.
- Very intriguing:
- That’s definitely a sweeper profile, and the second one looked like a very good one (the first he completely lost). For the most part, Mark Leiter Jr.’s effectiveness is going to tethered to his signature splitter, but that pitch makes him elite against lefties. You’d love for him to have an additional weapon against righties, and that’s what the sweeper could be. You wouldn’t expect him to use it too much against lefties – tends not to be a particularly effective pitch against opposite-handed hitters – but, hey, more diversity in the arsenal is always a good thing if you can command it. Like Steven said, this is definitely going to be something to watch.
- Speaking of things to watch, it was funny how good Hector Neris looked in the opener after his slog of a spring. I feel relatively justified in constantly reminding myself that, as an established veteran, his results in the spring simply do not predict his regular season performance. We’ll want to KEEP seeing him look like he did on Thursday, but that was pretty much the guy we expected to see all along.
- Brandon Belt is “baffled” by the way his offseason went, without a team ever even discussing money with him. He was great last year for the Blue Jays in a match-up protected role (.254/.369/.490/138 wRC+), and it’s hard to believe there wasn’t a team out there that could’ve used his bat in a bench/DH/1B role against righties. He still wants to play, and I guess he’ll just have to wait for some injuries to mount around the league. I get that he’s about to be 36, the strikeout rate trended up, and there was a lot of batted ball luck, but yeah, not even a single offer of a big league deal anywhere. Teams clearly were projecting massive regression.
- Oof. One of the Brewers’ top prospects:
- That was ugly, and hopefully not as serious as it looked. Gives flashbacks of Jimmy Nelson at Wrigley Field back when he was with the Brewers.
- Although I have nothing but well-wishes for Quero, I certainly have no love lost for the Brewers. They are BRAGGING about this:
- Set aside whether Hoskins’ slide was dirty (questionable) or unnecessarily dangerous (definitely), and just look at the guy. He looks like the very thing he’s trying to imitate: a petulant, whiny baby. Embarrassing for him, and embarrassing for the Brewers to think this is something worth showing off. Instant relief that the Cubs didn’t sign this guy.