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Cubs place Fowler on 15-day DL

The Chicago Cubs' disabled list grew by another player Monday.

The team placed center fielder Dexter Fowler on the 15-day DL - retroactive to Sunday - with a right-hamstring injury. Relief pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. has been recalled from Class AAA Iowa to take Fowler's roster spot.

Fowler, the Cubs' leadoff man, left Saturday night's game against the Pirates after the first inning after experiencing discomfort in his hamstring.

"We don't think it's a long-term injury," said Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer. "I hate to put timetables on it. But ultimately, we knew it was going to be something that was going to sideline him for at least the next handful of games, week or so. When that's the case, playing short-handed for what would be a significant part of a DL stint doesn't make a lot of sense.

"Dexter was great about it. I think he's in good spirits. I think he feels like he's going to be 100 percent when this is over. I don't think he wanted to risk playing at 80-85 percent for too long. Ultimately, it was a prudent thing to do at this time of the season. I think we've got some options in the outfield that we can play in the meantime."

Fowler has a hitting line of .290/.398/.483 with 7 homers and 28 RBI.

Albert Almora started in center field in Monday night's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. The Cubs also have outfielders Chris Coghlan and Matt Szczur on the roster, and right fielder Jason Heyward has played in center. Almora came up from Iowa on June 7.

"He's a really excellent center fielder, and it will be nice to see him play," Hoyer said. "You wish it didn't happen because of an injury. With Albert and Matt, and Jason's willing to play center, I think we're going to get through it.

"It's not the first injury we've had this year. It's not going to be the last. I think our guys have been doing a great job of being resilient."

The Cubs are awaiting the returns of infielder Tommy La Stella and Jorge Soler from the DL. Catcher-outfielder Kyle Schwarber is out for the season with a knee injury. Szczur and catcher Miguel Montero spent time on the DL earlier this season.

Help for the bullpen:

The call-up of Carl Edwards Jr. puts the Cubs' pitching staff at 13 members again.

"We're a little bit tired right now in the bullpen," Jed Hoyer said. "We'll go to 13 pitchers here for a little bit and then we'll re-evaluate, as we've been doing throughout the season."

At Iowa, Edwards is 1-1 with 1 save and a 4.26 ERA. He has struck out 35 batters in 25⅓ innings.

The bullpen is an area the Cubs may have to address even more when the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline gets closer.

"It's something you constantly address," Hoyer said. "I think there are probably 30 teams in baseball right now that are, at some level, talking about one or two members of their bullpen (underperforming). I think that's the nature of the way pitching is today, with 12- and 13-man staffs. There's no doubt we have some guys who pitched great baseball for us at the end of the season that are scuffling a little bit. It's our job to get those guys back on track.

"I don't think you lose faith in them, especially when you've seen them go out and dominate in the postseason. You have faith in those guys. We've had a number of meetings to talk about how we get those guys back on track. Just like a lineup, you rarely have everyone clicking on all cylinders. You have some guys who are pitching better than others. The difference in bullpens is that there's a lot of high-leverage situations."

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