The Cubs have placed right-hander Adbert Alzolay on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain, reports Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Fellow righty Michael Fulmer has been reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move.
It’s unclear at this point how long Alzolay is expected to be out, but it’s a worrisome development for the Cubs regardless. Alzolay is having a tremendous breakout season and has taken over the closer role for the Cubs. Through 63 innings this year, he has an earned run average of 2.71, racking up 22 saves in the process. He has struck out 26.4% of batters faced while walking just 4.8% of them and he has also kept the ball on the ground at a decent 42.4% clip.
More news on the severity of the injury will surely be forthcoming, but the timing is certainly unfortunate as there are now just three weeks left on the schedule. The Cubs are in the midst of a tight playoff race, three games back of the Brewers in the Central division and currently holding the second Wild Card spot in the National League, but with four clubs within 3.5 games of them.
They will now have to go through at least the next couple of weeks of that playoff push without their closer. That will potentially push pitchers like Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr. and José Cuas into the mix for the gig, with everyone moving up one notch on the bullpen chart.
Saw this coming a mile away….appreciate an athlete trying to pitch thru pain…but should have done this ten days ago. Tried extra rest but obviously didn’t work.
Forearm strain = TJ
It’s definitely one of the signs of ligament damage. Well, let’s see if resting can get him through 2023, Cubs are playing meaningful games right now.
Not always. Steele was on the IL with a forearm strain in June. And Fulmer is off the IL tonight after he went on with a forearm strain,
Hopefully that’s so. Cubs need him to be the closer, he’s embraced that role fully this year.
So who’s the closer now? Ouch!!
Merryweather last night.
Merryweather walks way too many people to be trusted in the closer role.
Probably PCA since he can do everything.
In time I think it might end up being Stroman. The playoff rotation for a WC is in decent shape with Steele, Hendricks, and Assad or Wicks. Meanwhile, Stroman is having to build back up. Getting him to a point where he can give them two quality innings every other night might be a reasonable bridge.
Honestly not a terrible idea at all if he can get to a point where he’s locked in enough to get the last 3 outs. I think he’s got the mentality that he’d rise to the occasion and enjoy doing it!
With how awful Cuas was last night, I fully expect David Ross to name him the closer today.
I hope Fulmer was just shaking off some rust last night, but he looked completely lost. Lucky the Rockies suck or he would have blown it.
Not ideal but hopefully he comes back after the minimum like Fulmer did for his forearm strain. I would rather have a rested Adbert.
18 games left with no closer could be big trouble. Forearm strains are much longer than 15 days on the IL, he’s done for ’23.
The dreaded forearm strain strikes again. That sucks.
Roll the dice with Luke Little. This is how closers are born. Can not do any worse with the other options available.
Alzolay was starting to give up a lot of hard hit balls, even in saves, and more recently, walks. He and Leiter’s arms were about to fall off from overuse. Fulmer on IL and I wonder how long Merryweather can last. Hopefully Little will be able to step up… This is where Jed’s bargain basement bullpen may come back to bite him in the a$$.
Fulmer back tonight. Hope Little will step up too. Offense needs to break out to give the bullpen some breathing room.
“This is where Jed’s bargain basement bullpen may come back to bite him in the a$$.”
I don’t think this is a fair criticism. First Hoyer/Hawkins have done a fantastic job of developing freeagent arms. Much like the Dodgers and Rays are known for development or being able resurrect a career, the Cubs should be given credit based on high success rates. No, not every one works out, not even for the Dodgers or Rays.
Secondly, the Cubs spent up to the tax threshold. There wasn’t much left to throw around… that was a strategy. Last December was a system full of live arms. This season was about evaluating what they had, who could develop and help moving forward. And not having to spend $40M on a bullpen.
Third, Hughes and Thompson were huge parts of the Cubs bullpen that never got going. I would never have thought Thompson would simply lose everything. On top of that, a lot of those young arms kinda failed to develop – eg Sanders, Estrada, B. Little.
Im more concerned with how Ross overworked his bullpen. Go back and take a look at the starters pitch counts through April,May and June. Steele could be cruising along and Ross would pull him at 83 pitches. Ross seemed to be protecting his rotation at the expense of his bullpen. My friends and I routinely talked about the bullpen getting worn down. I think Fulmer, Alzolay, Leiter and Merryweather were all on pace to blow passed 75 IP. That’s crazy…
I believe there are a number of factors, but I’m not going to hammer Hoyer for issues with the bullpen.
Hoyer’s top of the bullpen will be his Achilles heel. Not everyone has the cajones to handle the ninth inning, IMO. But this explains his rather shaky last couple of outings.
I thought you said you were a writer? LOL. Obviously you definitely need a proof reader.