Well, we wanted baseball back didn’t we?! First, Jed Hoyer basically says to forget about Carlos Correa and then we get some injury updates and boy does this already suck for the Cubs.
We already knew about David Bote having shoulder surgery in the offseason that’s going to make him miss the start of the regular season and last week we found out about reliever Codi Heuer undergoing Tommy John surgery. Now, we’ve learned that Ian Happ had an elbow procedure, but even worse right-handed pitcher Adbert Alzolay has a shoulder injury.
At least Happ still thinks he can be ready to go for Opening Day.
Ian Happ had surgery on his right throwing elbow in Feb. to clear out loose bodies, Hoyer says.
Hoyer added it doesn’t really affect him hitting and that Happ is confident he will be ready for opening day. #Cubs
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 14, 2022
However, things do not sound good at all for Alzolay. Hoyer says the team does not expect that this will be a short-term stint on the injured list for the right-hander.
Ian Happ underwent a right elbow procedure in February. He's hitting and doing light throwing now. Optimistic he'll be ready by start of the season. Adbert Alzolay has right shoulder tightness and will start year on IL. Not expected to be a minimum stint.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) March 14, 2022
Man, things have been pretty brutal for Alzolay ever since he was first hyped up as being a key contributor to the starting rotation. Going back to 2018, Alzolay has battled various injuries, but he did show plenty of good stuff throughout the 2021 season, albeit he did have mighty struggles against left-handed hitting.
So yeah, the Cubs just lost a solid pitcher that fans want to see succeed. Obviously sucks for him, but this injury and the unknown of how long it’ll take for Alzolay to recover makes it even worse.
UPDATE
Looks like we won’t be seeing Alzolay for a couple months.
Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay told me he will miss upwards of two months with his strained right Lat ( top of shoulder) He said it was the same injury he sustained in 2018.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) March 15, 2022
In 2021, Alzolay made 21 starts and 30 total appearances. He missed almost three weeks with a hamstring strain, but after returning from the injured list Alzolay was superb out of the bullpen. In his last eight outings the righty allowed three earned runs in 19.1 innings, striking out 21 and walking only two. Lots of talent, but the injuries Alzolay hasn’t been able to escape them.
This does open the door for more competition during spring training and well the Cubs are looking to add more pitching.
Hoyer says there’s “an urgency” to sign free agents to get players into camp, but players also want to hold out for best deals. Their “biggest focus” is pitching and pitching depth. @cbschicago
— Matt Zahn (@mattzahnsports) March 14, 2022
Hoyer: “Certainly we’re going to add a lot more players.” pic.twitter.com/WrFrOUsQFm
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) March 14, 2022
Hopefully good ones, amirite!
