Cubs' Chatwood suffers setback, Quintana stays on target

A return to the mound by Cubs pitcher Tyler Chatwood appears unlikely.

According to manager David Ross, Chatwood had to pause his rehab routine and will need some time off. The right-hander has been on the injured list since Sept. 1 with a right forearm strain.

"I think he was trying to push himself to be back as soon as he possibly could, knowing the time frame the season is squeezed into," Ross said before Tuesday's game against Cleveland. "Then trying to get that next gear, it just wasn't there. His heart, I think, was pushing him on, but his body was telling him to hold back."

Ross wouldn't go into details of what caused the shutdown of his rehab other than to say, "it didn't feel good."

"I don't want to make a statement that his season's over, but I would say there's definitely a lot of caution," Ross said. "He's going to continue to try to push himself. I'm not saying there's not a scenario where we're in the World Series and he's in the bullpen. Things can change from now until then. Right now he's on the shelf for a little bit."

Left-hander Jose Quintana, meanwhile, is still on pace to return soon. He went on the injured list Sept. 2 with left lat inflammation.

Ross said Quintana had a successful bullpen session Monday, will have another on Wednesday, then pitch a simulated game. Left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin, who was injured when the Cubs got him in a trade with Arizona, is scheduled for a simulated game Wednesday.

"We'll probably be bringing him (Quintana) out of the bullpen like we tried last time," Ross said. "We'll see how he continues to build and stretch him out and see how Chafe looks and how the lefties continue to throw and try to assess who will be in the bullpen moving forward."

On a related note, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday there will be no days off during the league playoffs, which means the Cubs may need five starters for the postseason instead of four if they play long enough.