Cubs place Hendricks, Smyly on IL; Mervis called up
The Cubs made several roster moves before Tuesday's game against the Astros.
For starters, they put off the decision on how to cure whatever's wrong with Kyle Hendricks by playing him on the 15-day injured list with a low-back strain. Left-hander Drew Smyly also went on the 15-day IL with a right hip impingement.
Pitchers Hayden Wesneski and Luke Little returned from Triple A. Meanwhile, the Cubs designated infielder Garrett Cooper for assignment and called up first baseman Matt Mervis.
Hendricks' slow start to the season is the biggest issue looming over the Cubs right now. In five starts, he's posted a 12.00 ERA. Sunday against Miami was technically his best performance of the season, but he still allowed 4 runs in 4 innings.
“We can find silver linings, for sure,” manager Craig Counsell said before the game. “Kyle has very high expectations for himself. When we get past this injury, Kyle will go back to work. Having an effective Kyle Hendricks is something that's going to make this team better. We're not going to stop looking for answers and I know Kyle's not.”
Counsell scoffed at the idea Hendricks has taken the mound for the last time with the Cubs. Obviously, he's the only player left from the 2016 World Series team, so the sentimental attachment from both fans and teammates is immense.
“I wouldn't be in this spot if it wasn't for him,” Wesneski said. “He does mean a lot to everybody in that clubhouse. In particular, what he's helped me out on is just reading hitters. Let them tell the story and then read it. It's one of those things.”
Hendricks' spot in the rotation won't arrive until Saturday in Boston, so that plan remains TBA, with Wesneski and Ben Brown the obvious candidates to start.
With Cooper, Counsell said the Cubs just wanted balance out their hitters. Cooper, Patrick Wisdom and Alexander Canario are all right-handed, so Mervis provides another left-handed hitting option.
It's possible Cooper could agree to accept a minor-league assignment and resurface with the Iowa Cubs in a few days.
Mervis, part two
There was plenty of fanfare when Mervis made his major-league debut with the Cubs last season on May 5. He provided an RBI single in a win over Miami that day, but eventually faced the typical young player struggles.
He hit .167 over 27 games and the Cubs started playing Cody Bellinger at first base. Back at Wrigley Field, Mervis talked about what he learned in that first stint.
“How I'm going to get attacked, how pitchers expand based off previous pitches in the at-bat,” he said. “Plenty I could learn from last year.”
Mervis also got technical and talked about how he spent the winter working on being more directional instead of rotational in his hitting. He hit .288 with 5 home runs and 13 RBI for Iowa this season.
“I've done a better job of not thinking about the call-up or whatever happens,” Mervis said. “It's more fun when you get 2 hits than no hits. So my job is to show up every day and try to hit and produce and let everything else take care of itself.”
Around the horn
Wesneski figured to be back with the Cubs right away after tossing 4 scoreless innings against Arizona last week. But he traveled with the Iowa Cubs to Buffalo on Monday before getting the call to head to Chicago. “No clue,” he said. “When you get a call from (Iowa manager) Marty Pevey, it's usually a pretty good one.” …
Hard to believe, but this series is the first at Wrigley Field for the Astros since 2013. These teams used to be NL Central rivals before Houston changed leagues.
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