May 5: Imanaga has been placed on the 15-day IL with Gavin Hollowell recalled to take his place on the active roster, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times.
May 4: Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga sustained what the team described as a left hamstring strain during today’s start against the Brewers. With one out in the sixth inning, Imanaga picked up the injury while covering first base during a fielder’s choice from Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich. Imanaga was immediately favoring his hamstring even before the play was completed, and was removed from the game after consulting with team trainers.
More imaging and tests need to take place before the Cubs decide whether or not Imanaga will head to the 15-day injured list, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine writes. Chicago has an off-day this coming Thursday, so conceivably, the team could skip Imanaga’s next turn in the rotation to give him some time to recover without putting him on the IL and losing him for at least 15 days.
That said, the fact that the injury has already been described as as strain certainly makes it seem like a 15-day IL stint is the most probable result. With Imanaga likely out of action and Justin Steele already gone for the season due to UCL surgery, Chicago is now down its top two projected starters.
Signed to a four-year, $53MM contract during the 2023-24 offseason, Imanaga’s move from Nippon Professional Baseball to the majors went very smoothly, as he delivered a 2.91 ERA over 173 1/3 innings in his first big league season. The lefty was off to another good start in his sophomore season, as counting today’s outing, Imanaga has a 2.82 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. That quality ERA does mark some troubling secondary numbers, however, as Imanaga’s 18.9% strikeout rate is well below average, and he has allowed a lot of hard contact.
Those metrics notwithstanding, Imanaga was still delivering good bottom-line results, and helping the Cubs rise to first place in the NL Central. Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd have also pitched well, Colin Rea has performed well since being inserted into Steele’s rotation spot, and Ben Brown has been inconsistent but serviceable in covering innings.
Assuming Imanaga will indeed go on the IL, Chris Flexen might be the likeliest replacement, as he was already working as a starter at Triple-A before Chicago selected his contract to the big league roster earlier this week. Flexen has thus far made one appearance with the Cubs (a three-inning relief outing in Friday’s 10-0 win over Milwaukee), and could be fairly easily stretched out again for a starting gig in Imanaga’s place.
If not Flexen, the Cubs could call Jordan Wicks up from Triple-A, or perhaps give star prospect Cade Horton his first taste of Major League action. Javier Assad won’t be an option for perhaps several months, as Assad recently suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain while pitching on a rehab assignment for an earlier oblique strain suffered in Spring Training.
Here comes Horton!
Who?
Thought you heard?
Samiam
Still too soon.
Flexen is already here. He’ll get first shot. Cubs will just bring up a reliever. Maybe Keegan. He’s being stretched out in Iowa. Some people who should be in the running aren’t pitching great right now.
Yes sir, Uncle! And if they really want they can go on regular rest and not need Shota’s fill in until the Mia, Sox, Mia, Cin, Col stretch.
Last thing the Cubs need is another rental.
Thompson isn’t on the 40 man anymore. Who they gonna DFA?
You saying you can’t think of anybody to dump? Really? I see a bunch. Brujan, Cowles, Lopez, Hollowell, Pearson, Turner hasn’t been worth 5 million bucks, Merryweather can go IMO. Because we need 4 guys to play 3B and another one in the Minors because we have no infield prospects at all. Still can’t think of anybody?
I don’t disagree but Thompson hasn’t been great at the MLB level either. I’d rather see Horton come up if they’ve got to make a 40 man move.
I agree. Nobody asked me but this is what I’d do:
Let Horton start for Iowa on Tuesday limit him to about 60 pitches however far he gets.
Put Shota on the 15 day IL, No matter what
Play this week with a 4 man rotation
Bring Horton up a week from Monday to pitch at least 2 games. Monday and Sat or Sunday against the Marlins and W. Sox.
Keep Flexen in Long relief to back him up.
Then see where Shota is at and where Horton is at.
Then you can pick between Horton and Flexen if Shota needs more time.
But like I said , Nobody asked me.
I like it. No harm in seeing how he fares at the Major League level. If he excels, it’ll be a good problem to have when Shota returns.
Keegan Thompson actually has been pretty dang good at the major league level.
Crap Horton pitched Sunday. 6 innings, 1 run 5 K’s. Well it was a perfectly good plan. Oh well maybe give him a couple innings Wednesday and still go with my plan. He has a 1.24 ERA now. I guess that’s not good enough for the Cubs though. I’m sure he can do better before we call him up.
Makes sense Uncle. It’s a logical approach. However, a vast majority of time when it comes to sense and logic Jed will short circuit.
Uncle, you need to reevaluate your Keegan Thompson stance. Thompson hasn’t done anything at Iowa to deserve a call up. And whether it’s been in Chicago or Iowa, everytime he’s been called on, it’s like flipping a coin, for what you’re gonna get.
No he hasn’t drascoo. If he showed anything, he’d have been up here. Counsell has been very patient with him. And I don’t dislike Thompson.
He’s really just been solid his entire career, his numbers in Iowa are good this year. I’m confident he can come up and be a solid 5th starter again. The expectations on him always seem higher than other guys, I’ll never understand why the organization and the fans are so hard on him.
Is he related to the Tim Horton of Canadian donut fame, or am I thinking of Tim Morton? Either way, didn’t realize he also played ball.
I hear Kenta Maeda’s filling out job applications as we speak. Granted, his Tigers career didn’t go at all well, buf maybe there’s a bit of gas left in the tank?
For Korea I hope. I bet he wouldn’t count as a foreigner there either.
No, go grab Mike Clevinger!!
That would be assault.
Ricky Horton
Two exits in a row due to leg issues is alarming. I’d be prepping Horton for an early intro.
At some point the cubs were gonna cub
Please explain?
And you were gonna disappoint.
Not Cub time yet that’s September
But it’s always your time to troll
no FIP mention lol
It’s ok to mention Imanagas poor FIP when discussing him. You do with every other starting pitcher that’s discussed so you should with him too.
He has a 4.85 FIP. Shouldn’t be too hard to replace that.
Hey King…hate to break the news to you but he just needs to back in October. Keep trolling…make yourself feel valuable all summer long.
Cubs haven’t made the playoffs since 2020.
2017 last win
Wouldn’t be a Cubs post without Dumpster Divin Dumb A$$ making a comment. Swear to God he posts more on Cubs stories than Sox stories. Then again when half your team is batting under .200 there ain’t much to say I guess.
All I know is that Fergie Jenkins pitched in the majors for 19 years, covered first base many many times, and never got hurt doing it. Rick Reuschel, who was fat, had a career of similar length, and never got hurt covering first.
A lot is different in baseball nowadays–how hard they throw, how hard they swing, etc.– but one thing that has not changed is the skill set required of a pitcher to to cover first. So this is puzzling and frustrating.
It is getting harder to be a fan, because so many of the players you root for are constantly injured. That is one reason baseball has fewer passionate fans than it used to have, I think.
Hard to tell if this will sink the Cubs. I do know that there sometimes is a sort of cumulative effect to injuries, especially injuries to the starting rotation. At some point a rotation just isn’t talented enough for the team to be successful. We’ll see how it works out this time.
Even if the Cub’s lose Imanaga for a while they still look likely to win the division. As a Brewers fan, it’s hard to ignore all their issues, especially their lack of quality starters. Perhaps the Reds will be the Cub’s most likely threat.
Big test for this team and that FO. They’ve said that Horton needs more seasoning in Iowa. I hope they’re patient enough to at least give Flexen a couple of starts. No one with a viable starter wants to trade til the deadline so ride with what you have, as long as you can stay competitive… I won’t even go into Hoyer’s (Rickett’s) chicken $hit approach to serious starters last offseason but man, it’s coming back to bite them in the a$$ right now.
Big test? After the Giants, Mets they should dominate for a while. Miami, White Sox,, Colorado, with the Reds sandwiched in between. I think it’ll be OK until Shota makes it back.
Uncle, I might be crazy, but I’m a little worried about the White Sox series. They seem to have some young hitters jelling all at once, and that catcher Quero reminds me of Yadier Molina in his ability to hit ’em where they ain’t. Especially against the Cubs diminished rotation, the Sox could be pesky.
If I’m crazy, tell me so and I’ll stop worrying.
You’re crazy. Not a matter of talent but of emotions and rivalry. Cubs weren’t going to have Shota or Tallion against the Giants anyway. Then you have a day off. Then you have Tallion, Boyd and either Brown or Rea against the Mets unless CC wants to throw Flexen in to give every body an extra day off. Cubs can still set it up any way they want. Cubs -Sox records and odds don’t mean much. Cubs have everything going for them including home field the first time around.
They have 4 starters- one a converted long reliever. An iffy bullpen and an offense that’s due for a cool off which happens to every team. Yes, Unc, they are gonna be seriously tested.
We’ll see. But nothing will be different than it would have been anyway this week. So what would have been will have been anyway other than Shota missing a start. They’re not going to be “Tested” any more than they would have been anyway. And they’ll have plenty of time to figure it out. I can think of worse things happening than Horton and Brown in the rotation and they can slot Horton in Iowa any way they want. It might be his time. Depends on Flexen. He’s been a 4A player his whole life. What does he do? With 9 games coming up against the White Sox and Marlins what better time for him to stick a toe in the pond?
Thank you, Uncle. I stand reassured.
No team in baseball can lose their top 2 starters- one for the season and the other for at least a month, and not be tested. Plenty of time? They had the same excellent record at the end of April last year and within a month, they blew the whole season.
They can when their top 2 starters weren’t really #1 starters. The best 2 starters with Potential on the Cubs are Brown and Horton. Steel has 2 pitches and needs to be spot on to be good. Shota is really a # 3 starter because that’s where he won all his games last year pitching out of that slot. Is he good? Absolutely. Is he a guy you can send against Blake Snell or Yammamoto in game 1 of a series? I don’t like those odds. Losing Steele and Shota is no different than losing Tallion and Boyd. It’s just my opinion. Brown, Horton and Wiggins should be UNTOUCHABLE IMO. But watch what your buddy Hoyer does when he panics.
Other than the Dodgers, who have 10 MLB starters.
Yep, Sox have won 3/4 and are on their way up the AL Central standings!
Is there another way for them to go?
Aren’t 8 of them on the DL?
Flexen!!!!!!! For some reason, they keep on babying him saying Horton needs more development due to the fact he was out much of last year.
He’s already on an innings limit. It’s about keeping him healthy.. they’re not babying him.
The Cubs don’t need to make a trade. Everybody just take a pill or whatever you need to relax. There is still depth to draw from. Wicks has been either good or horrible. Keegan has been getting stretched out and doing well. Miller has been fine, Don’t know how he fits. I don’t know about Merryweather. He also either looks good or horrible. He would have been the LAST guy I would have brought in especially since he pitched yesterday and with his walks. Think I would have gone Pomerantz there but you only needed one out so I can see it I guess. Noland has been solid. Birdsell hasn’t even pitched yet. Just need to take it easy and let it play out, It’ll be OK. Just still hope Hoyer keeps it in his pants and everything will be fine.
Unclemike, I agree with your point but depth does simply not matter when it comes to the postseason. We can keep talking about depth all we want, and I will agree with you in terms of the regular season this team has it to stay “afloat”, but for a team that has gotten out to as hot of a start as they have, I am more worried about the postseason. They have 2 SP pitchers who I would trust to touch a baseball in the postseason, and one is out for the year (Steele); the other just got hurt (Shota). Additionally, the bullpen is simply a disaster. You can have as many mediocre players as you want for the regular season in the bullpen, but I promise it’ll bite you in the ass in the postseason if those are the guys taking the field. They still have a bottom 10 bullpen in the league. Guys who are supposed to be reliable (like Merryweather) have walked way too many guys and struggle when they enter a game with runners on base – literally their role as a RELIEVER. I fear the same thing will happen as the past couple years. Hot start -> no help -> fizzle out, and then you are left at the trade deadline wondering what to do. I understand that you have guys like Tucker now, so that problem may not arise, but is that not all the more the reason to go out and make moves NOW to compete for the one seed considering you have the easiest schedule in baseball left? Also, to convince a guy like Tucker to resign and show him you will do what is needed to win? I do not know about you, but the only guys on the entire pitching staff I would feel comfortable touching a baseball in a postseason run are Shota and Hodge right now. If you have any other suggestions I would really like to hear it, because I simply cannot make a case for them myself. Wicks, Keegan, Miller, Merryweather, 55 year old Pressly who has a K rate lower than his BB rate and was 4th in blown saves last year, all do not sound like answers to the problem. Depth is a great thing for the regular season – a necessity. However, there has been history of fizzling out because we didn’t take full advantage of our hot steaks when they present themselves (I can count 5 games we have lost simply because of bullpen play thus far) and then we do nothing of importance at the deadline. If you take our current roster and compare it to any postseason team who made it past the first round last year, their top 2 SP and back 3 BP guys put ours to shame – not a recipe to win games. I understand how well the lineup has played, but pitching becomes all the more crucial in the postseason, and the Cubbies simply do not have it.
Agree but what do you propose hoyer to do now or at the deadline since he simply does not wish to part with any of our top prospects to get the 3rd baseman we desperately need or any kind of impactful pitching.
Well if you remember I said at the beginning of the year this was a team Hoyer built to win the division and save his job. You all defended him. Now at the first sign of trouble you’re panicking? I said I didn’t like Pressly as the Closer and I still don’t. The rest of the bullpen is better than I thought although I don’t think much of Merryweather or Thielbar but whatever. Keller and Palencia have been surprises and if used properly they could become dominant. Maybe Miller comes up and takes a spot but it is what it was, A division competing team slopped together by a lame duck guy who has no plan whatsoever besides pick guys off waivers, Throw them at the wall and see what sticks. What exactly did you expect? The worst thing you can do right now is let the lame duck trade the future for more rentals. It won’t help. I’m getting exactly what I expected other than some unexpected leaps from Kelly and PCA or this would bother me. Sending Shaw down was stupid, They should have let him work it out up here like PCA. He can hit AAA pitching, Duh. Has anybody really done any better? Keep defending Hoyer. I’m seeing mostly what I expected. Fun fact: Scott Harris was Hoyers assistant on the Cubs. He’s now with the Tigers who had the exact same record as the Cubs and he’s been there 2 years, Hoyer 10. You think we kept the right guy?
I completely understand your gripe with 3B, but at this position, I see an actual solution that is very plausible in the near future: Shaw. I am not a fan of looking for rentals with this team considering the abundance of young talent. We need guys who will be added center pieces to what theoretically should be a long-term winning team (at least 5 years). If we worked out something with Tucker (I am PCA’s number 1 fan, so I wish him too, but we still have plenty of control there anyways), the only theoretical position in the outfield we would need filled in the near-future is left. I like Alcantara a lot, not as much Caissie. I think Caissie becomes very expendable. We have a young group of players here that could be good for many years to come. Someone has to be willing to budge on a reliever for a package revolving around Caissie I would imagine. I have no idea where things are at, as I am obviously not a GM making calls, but it would be criminal if we didn’t at least call on guys like Duran. I know it would take more than Caissie, but with him as a center piece, I think that is a very solid start to a talk. Plus, Duran’s age fits into our timeline of younger players very well.
I’ve said before ad nauseum. The only way I trade Caissie is IF THEY GET TUCKERS NAME ON A CONTRACT. Then fine. If not then Caissie plays RF next year and life goes on. Except they’ll give Caissie 15 AB’s and if he’s not hitting .400 they’ll send him to Knoxville. And I’ve never heard Tucker even say he wants to stay here. Never.
Unclemike, I am fairly new to the blog. I can see that me and you see eye-to-eye on many things here. You will never catch me defending Hoyer. As you can see with my post below, before even reading yours, I completely agree that Shaw is the answer and it was stupid we sent him back down. And I agree, we probably will go for a rental, which I also agree is a completely terrible idea considering we have a group of younger players we can control for a while. We should be finding guys who will fit nicely into the timeline of these younger players to created a few dominant years of baseball while replenishing the farm in the meantime. It is worth the extra amounts we would probably have to give up. I have hated Jed ever since the Dansby move (he wouldn’t pay a few million more for a SS one tier higher), wouldn’t pay a top-of-the-line starter this offseason, and consistently makes offers to guys like Bregman and Scott in positions we desperately need help at that somehow neatly ALWAYS end up in second place so he can say “LOOK CHICAGO, I TRIED!!!!!.” His bullpen methodology has been absolutely horrendous. You can see what sticks to the wall once you have a few guys to build around – we have acquired nor paid for any. Luckily a few have worked out coming up from the farm, like Hodge, so we have been able to build around him, but overall the strategy is complete garbage.
Agreed, but honestly, if we blow it on Tucker might need a couple years break lol.
Not that I’m against trading prospects but it has to make sense.The Cubs had the 3RD baseman of the future in Cam Smith. They not only traded him but the other 3B they had and a decent pitcher for a guy they knew they wouldn’t sign. Who does that? I’ll tell you. A guy who’s afraid of losing his job. Ricketts has mandated that the Cubs be Luxury Tax compliant. 241 million bucks is plenty to field a team capable of winning a Championship, But only if they guy in charge of the deals knows how to blend young and old. Heck Tampa did it for years with a lot less. I don’t mean to rant against Hoyer but he’s horrible. Your Swanson example hits it on the head. We had Nico getting the Job done there. Not to mention 10 SS’s in the system. So what does he do? Gives a huge contract to a guy they didn’t need. Suzuki, Same thing. Why did they need him exactly with what they had coming? Not to mention giving him a NTC. He just sees something shiny, And the plan goes out the window Every time a prospect seems ready, They find an excuse to either trade him or send him back down Horton might be next. He’s killing it and getting him a couple of starts against the Marlins and White Sox hurts how? They’ll find an excuse. And it better not have anything to do with his clock. His clock is now.
I agree. I also do not understand, if you are going to spend at a position, always spending the amount of money we do on guys one tier below elite. If you were going to sign a SS, why not Turner??? It would have costed 2 million more a year and a few more years? We are one of the largest markets in the entire world and now they have their own dang network required to watch games, Marquee. How do we not spend more or be willing to go over luxury tax with new revenue sources while LA blows it out by 1 trillion dollars! These slightly above mediocre signings constantly cost us opportunities and give excuses as to why we do not sign elite players like the Scotts and Sotos of the world.
In terms of trading prospects, I agree it has to make sense, and the only way it makes sense, in the Smith trade, is if we sign Tucker. I think that trade ends up being a win for the Cubs, if and only if, we get Tucker to a long-term deal. I have read reports that Ricketts is now open to spending on players more, so I do not know, we will see what that means. Starts with Tuck. If Cade Horton gets traded for some crusty 32 year old pitcher having an abnormally good start to the year, I think the Cub fanbase will be enraged. His time is now, just like Shaw he has proven he can compete against the Triple A competition. They should both be receiving calls to the MLB roster tonight, but we cannot call back up Shaw because of the roster requirements we have on Brujan and gave up Matt Mervis for! I am hoping we sign Tuck and then can use some of the outfield prospects we have as capital to acquire the medium-aged dominant relievers and SPs we need, because other than Horton our farm really is not the most promising thing in the world for SP, what else is new! .
I disagree on the starting P front but otherwise agree with everything you say. Horton, Wiggins, Birdsell, Wicks, Noland, Mc Cullough is injured but should be good, Armstrong, Gray is hurt now but they have a lot of good young guys you haven’t heard of yet. I watch a lot of Minor League baseball so I’ve seen what they have. Provided of course the FO doesn’t trade them away for nothing. Fingers crossed. Pleasure ranting with you. LOL
LOL. You as well. I don’t watch much minor league baseball, so I will take your word. I just know we have a rich history over the past decade of struggling to create arms out of the farm. Even the Theo years weren’t great for that.
Holy draft, need an editor?
Double checked it before I sent it. I think grammar is good… wanna let me know?
Only thing I hate worse than Hoyer is the grammar police!
It’s not the grammar.
Wow! Your comment is very insightful!
You crack me up UncleMike! LOL
Curses!
Not really worried about Imanaga as that’s not serious with rest. More worried about Tucker who got dinged on a stupid steal of 2nd in the 9th. What was that about?
Taking away the double play. Decent possibility they don’t throw through there.
They were down 4 runs. Who gives a crap about a double play and risking your best player? It was stupid. Sorry
The game was over at 1-0 wild pitch. There was no Cubs comeback today. They didn’t reach 3rd until the 9th. It was a pitcher’s duel until Shōta got hurt.
Uncle…a hammy IS serious…and that “rest” could be multiple weeks or months…
JD hit on the steal there in the ninth that he was surprised they even threw through and vacated the position to even cover in that situation. Looks like it wasn’t a finger jam and probably hitting high on thigh going over the bag.
Realistically, Shota is out for 5 or 6 weeks, including rehab at Iowa. I sense some denial going on in some of these comments.
Lets let the Doctors and MRI come through first huh? Whatever happens don’t bring him back until he’s healthy. Still along way to go. Wicks is a phone call away. Horton is a 40 man move and a phone call away. Noland too. Did you take the pill like I said?
A couple years ago wicks looked like a real up and comer. What happened there? Hope it’s not flexen.
He’s just going through young pitcher syndrome. Right now he goes as his change up goes. When it’s on he’s on. When it’s not he’s not. Think it might have something to do with the crappy weather. That’s a feel pitch and it’s his bread and butter. But it’s still not an excuse. Just something he needs to figure out. He’ll be fine.
He’s only pitched 82 big league innings. It’s tough to develop young pitching while you are trying to win. You have to let them learn on the job but sometimes that takes time.
Cubs will be ok.
Mark is selling Shota kinda short. Underlying metrics aside, his results thus far have said ACE. H e has been great. It may be rare, but there are pitchers who have generally outperformed their expected numbers over an entire career. He may be one of them. Meanwhile, hammies are a tricky thing. You come back too quickly and you can tear it and then you’re missing months. He’s gonna be out a few weeks, minimum. Brutal blow for my Cubs. Yes, they are mine.
Name one pitcher who has outperformed his FIP over his career. Just name one.
Shota Imamaga!
That’s a small sample size of barely over a seasons worth of pitching.
The fact is there are no examples of someone who has consistently beat their FIP through their career more than maybe a half a run and that can be chalked up to the defense they were playing behind.
Kyle Hendricks
Catching up to him now
Hendricks has a .21 difference in his career FIP and ERA. Thats barely anything.
4-6 weeks out easily. Nasty hammie pull.
Time to take Merryweather out back and Ol’ Yeller him.
They’ve caught temporarily lightening in a bottle with rea. they’d really be pressing their luck with ex-white Sox flexen joining the rotation. Time to give Horton the promotion!
Turnbull would have been too young for hoyer to have signed. He’s only 32. Here’s going Chapman has a great series against the cubs beginning tonight. Yet another 3rd sacker that hoyer let get away when the chance was there.
Gotta stretch that muffin body
how on walking to first do you hurt your hammy
Unfortunately I think all Cubs fans expected this. They’re not taking any chances of something worse happening. Hopefully it’s only for 2 weeks. The last thing the Cubs need to do after this is something drastic and sell the farm for another rental
Prediction- Horton will never pitch for the cubs maybe getting hurt and being released only to find success elsewhere.
Did u know Horton never on the 40 man? That is how much they think of him. Flexen da man!
He’s already on an innings limit coming off a significant injury. The last thing they need him to have a set back. He wouldn’t even be available until Friday anyway plus I don’t think they want him to start off his career against Soto, Lindor and Pete Alonso. That’s like throwing him in the deep end or in the lions den.
Yeah, it’s gotta be against the Marlins or White Sox.
There is NO truth to the rumor that Hollowell is still on the 40-man and now on the 26-man because he has the video of Jed with the sheep.
It’s true. It was a black sheep.
Forget about him!
call up cade horton right now