Cubs left-hander Justin Steele felt good after playing catch Saturday afternoon. But the team decided against rushing him back and put him on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Thursday, with a strained left forearm.
Manager David Ross said he expects Steele will only miss two starts.
“Pretty confident in that,” he said.
In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled catcher Miguel Amaya from Triple-A Iowa, giving them an extra right-handed bat until they need more pitching. Cubs right-hander Hayden Wesneski is scheduled to take Steele’s place in the rotation for now.
It became clear that Steele would need to miss at least one start. And Ross said the team weighed whether it was “smart” to get him ready to pitch in the road trip finale next Sunday in San Francisco. The way the rotation maps out, thanks to off days on either side of the 10-day road trip, he’ll be eligible to return before his first scheduled start back at Wrigley Field.
If the Cubs hadn’t put Steele on the IL, they’d be playing down a man for most of the road trip.
Steele’s catch session Saturday helped the Cubs gauge his starting point.
“He actually felt pretty decent,” Hottovy said. “So, for us it’s like, OK, if we can keep this to a minimum, can we work backwards from there?’”
If Steele’s recovery goes smoothly, Hottovy expects he’ll throw two bullpens before his return, likely throwing off the mound by the end of this coming week.
“It’s important to make sure we give him the rest he needs in the front end,” Hottovy said.
Wesneski returns to the rotation after two weeks in Triple-A and one relief outing back up in the big-leagues. He threw 3 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen, charged with just one run, after Steele exited his start Wednesday injured.
“He did a fantastic job,” Hottovy said. “It’s not easy, no matter what it looks like, having to come in the game and get hot quick and do all that on the mound.”
The Cubs don’t have to worry about lining up Wesneski. Because he last pitched on Steele’s start day, he just falls into his regular starter’s schedule.
“There’s still the component of, ‘OK, how do we get to his start now?’” Hottovy said. “Making sure we’re using the right pieces. We’re gonna have one less arm in the bullpen at least for the time being. You know, how do we make sure we manage that without overusing guys?”
Looking at the opposing pitching matchups coming up, the team prioritized Amaya’s bat over a replacement bullpen arm in the short term. Plans could change, Ross cautioned, if they’re forced to go deep into the bullpen.
Amaya’s addition also gives Ross more opportunity to pinch hit at the catching position mid-game.
“Miggy earned the ability to get another call up with how he performed last time,” Ross said. “Putting himself on the map and filling in while Yan [Gomes] was down [last month] was really important. And he did a really nice job of coming in and proving what we believed for a long time. He’s well on his way to being an everyday big leaguer.”