The Chicago Cubs have gained some perception into Kyle Hendrick’s proper shoulder pressure.
An MRI confirmed no structural injury, and he is not going to want surgical procedure, supervisor David Ross mentioned Thursday. But the Cubs don’t know when Hendricks will probably be again on the mound.
The staff desires to get via the four-game collection at Dodger Stadium — which opened Thursday night time with a 5-3 loss — and return house earlier than getting a greater thought of Hendricks’ timeline.
“You knew he was dealing with something, so it’s unfortunate,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy mentioned Thursday. “But he’s such a gamer. He was going to keep trying to go out there and grind it for the guys. He knew where we were. But it’s unfortunate for Kyle.”
This is the second time Hendricks is coping with a shoulder problem since early June, when he went 12 days between begins due to fatigue. That makes Hendricks’ state of affairs extra regarding. Asked whether or not it might be unrealistic to count on Hendricks to want solely a minimal stint on the injured checklist, Hottovy replied, “I don’t know, to be honest.”
Hendricks didn’t journey with the Cubs to Los Angeles, staying in Chicago to get remedy on his shoulder. The layoff in June enabled Hendricks to make 5 begins till shoulder discomfort brought on him to exit Tuesday’s begin in Milwaukee after three innings.
“I just know we tried the 15 days last time without putting him on the IL, we kind of tried to give it to him thinking that was right thing to do, and obviously it didn’t quite work (except) for a couple of weeks,” Hottovy mentioned. “So we’ve bought to take that into consideration.
“Now we’re kind of back to that same spot so how do we reevaluate moving forward what the next steps are going to be to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Cubs are being cautious whereas they await to get a fuller image of Hendricks’ damage. But if something could be gleaned from left-hander Wade Miley’s state of affairs during which he offers with an identical damage to what delayed his begin to the season, Hendricks’ return may very well be measured in weeks, not days.
Miley, who has been out since June 11 with a left shoulder pressure, performed catch Thursday. He continues to be working via a throwing development. Miley must get to a degree at which he’s feeling robust and repeating good long-toss days, Hottovy mentioned, earlier than he works as much as throwing a bullpen.
The Cubs rotation ought to get a lift this weekend, although. Right-hander Marcus Stroman and left-hander Drew Smyly are anticipated to be activated from the IL and begin towards the Dodgers. They each threw a typical prestart bullpen Thursday, and in the event that they really feel good popping out of it, they are going to slot again within the rotation. The Cubs haven’t but introduced who will begin Saturday and Sunday. Justin Steele would have been in line to begin Saturday, however he’s in Chicago awaiting the beginning of his baby.
Hottovy is optimistic Smyly and Stroman will probably be able to go towards the Dodgers.
“Anytime you get reinforcements, it’s always refreshing,” Hottovy mentioned. “The last thing you want to do is push guys just because you feel like, oh, my gosh, we need them and making decisions that’s not best for them. But both of those guys are feeling great.”
The Cubs nonetheless have one potential arm to assist them in the course of the last two months of the season. Right-hander Adbert Alzolay has labored as much as lengthy toss and a 10-15 pitch touch-and-feel throwing session, although he’s nonetheless within the early levels of ramping up, Hottovy famous. Hope stays that Alzolay will return in some unspecified time in the future this season from his proper shoulder pressure.
Left-hander Brailyn Márquez’s standing stays unclear. Hottovy mentioned he hasn’t been getting many experiences on Márquez and that the purpose is to get him feeling good. Márquez has not pitched in a minor-league sport since 2019. He made his big-league debut in September 2020 and didn’t pitch final season due to a shoulder damage and handled myocarditis after a bout with COVID.
Hottovy mentioned Alzolay is “starting to trend in the right direction,” although the Cubs wish to be sure that he builds up the suitable manner and so they don’t rush him again.
“Anytime we can get him to compete this year, it’s going to be a bonus for next year,” Hottovy mentioned. “Because if you start getting too far into the season where he doesn’t have those innings, now you’re talking about next year: What’s the workload going to be like? How much can we expect? So I think whatever we can get this year, even if it’s for the last month this season and he throws 35-40 innings, that’s a bonus.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com