WASHINGTON – The Cubs put catcher Yan Gomes on the seven-day concussion injured list Wednesday, two days after he was struck in the head with a back swing. In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled right-hander Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa.
Gomes left the Cubs’ game Monday after the first inning. Manager David Ross said that in addition to Monday, Gomes had been hit with a couple back swings in Miami and in the Dodgers series.
Gomes presented mild symptoms, according to the Cubs. Putting him on the IL gives him time to ease back in.
“First and foremost, all my thoughts are with Yan,” Barnhart said in a conversation with the Sun-times Tuesday. “Hope he gets back as quickly as possible. We need him. He’s a huge part of our team, both in the locker room on the field, in meetings. But head head stuff you don’t mess with. I feel very strongly about that.
“I’ve been hit before, and they aren’t fun. Hopefully it’s nothing too major and he can be back in a short period of time.”
Assad returns for his third big-league stint this season. He began the year in the bullpen and then came back up for a spot start in place of an injured Jameson Taillon (strained left groin) about two weeks ago. But he hadn’t been in Triple-A long enough to fully stretch out to a starter’s workload. He allowed two runs in three innings as the Cubs fell to the Dodgers 6-2.
Because Assad is replacing a player on the IL, the Cubs didn’t need to wait the 15-day minimum to recall him. Assad made his last Triple-A start on Sunday. He threw 4 2⁄3 shutout innings and recorded six strikeouts.