The Chicago Cubs are going to be without their leadoff hitter Nico Hoerner for a while.
Prior to their series opener on Friday against the Minnesota Twins, the team announced that their starting second baseman will be going on the 10-day injured list after missing the last two games against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hoerner injured his hamstring on Monday, when he ran to third base on a Dansby Swanson double.
The Cubs are calling up left-handed hitting utility man Miles Mastrobuoni from Triple-A. The team is also activating left-handed relief pitcher Brandon Hughes from the injured list. Right-handed pitcher Javier Assad has been sent back down to the Iowa Cubs.
Christopher Morel should be getting most of the starts at second base while Hoerner recovers from his mild hamstring strain. Morel is leading off Friday night against the Twins.
Prior to going down with the hamstring strain, Hoerner was having a good year as the team’s leadoff hitter, posting a .303/.348/.395, slash line. The second baseman also led the team with 12 stolen bases and is second with 25 runs scored. I said it right after Hoerner was taken out from Monday’s game and then the team tried to downplay the severity, there is just no reason to try and push guys through these types of things. So, let’s hope another week of rest is all that Hoerner needs after the Cubs supposedly thought he could be used as soon as Tuesday night.
As for Morel, you know what you’re going to get. He hits the ball hard, runs fast and has a great throwing arm. You hope that his plate discipline can at least be average while he fills in for Hoerner, but he’s already showing why he can be extremely valuable in the Cubs lineup. In his first two games with the Cubs since getting called up on Monday, Morel has a home run and a double, going 4-for-8 overall at the plate.
The Cubs made a couple surprising moves to their Opening Day roster, which included Miles Mastrobuoni, who they acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade this past offseason. The 27-year-old was used in right field, filling in for Seiya Suzuki, who was still out in April. Mastrobuoni’s first stint with the Cubs wasn’t any good, as he went 4-for-20, with six strikeouts and no walks in eight total games.
However, Mastrobuoni has been spraying the ball all over the park in Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs. In 18 games this year with Iowa, Mastrobuoni posted a .949 OPS, with five doubles and two triples. He also walked 22 times compared to 18 strikeouts in 77 plate appearances.
First, a huge shoutout to Javier Assad. He had a few rough outings to begin the season and then gave up a couple runs in a short spot start against the Los Angeles Dodgers back in April, but his last two outings really did save the Cubs bullpen. Both came after short Jameson Taillon starts, as Assad threw five shutout innings against the Washington Nationals and then on Monday he did give up two runs in the ninth, but that came after another five shutout innings against the Cardinals, which kept the Cubs very much in that game.
As for Brandon Hughes, he’s been dealing with a knee issue since spring training. He began the season on the injured list and went back on it after only making five appearances. Hopefully the left-hander is healthy again because Hughes has proven to be a good reliever since coming up last year.
