Cubs catcher Geovany Soto has surgery on left knee
The Cubs made roster moves Friday, and more will come over the next few days.
Catcher Geovany Soto, who was scratched from Thursday night’s game because of left-knee inflammation, was scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Friday. He could be out three or more weeks.
The Cubs were expected to recall right-handed pitcher Randy Wells from Iowa today.
The Cubs did not officially put Soto on the disabled list, but they did select the contract of catcher Blake Lalli from Class AAA Iowa while optioning embattled starting pitcher Chris Volstad to Iowa.
Volstad lasted only 2 innings Thursday in an 8-7 loss to the Phillies as he fell to 0-6 with a 7.46 ERA. His turn in the rotation will be taken by left-hander Travis Wood, who will be recalled from Iowa to start Tuesday at Houston.
Wood made an emergency start May 6, pitching 6 innings of 3-run ball against the Dodgers and getting a no-decision in a 4-3 Cubs win.
“I’m not going to say it’s a small thing,” manager Dale Sveum said of Volstad’s problems.
“The easiest thing is probably the confidence factor because we all saw the confidence he shined in spring training and the dominance he had there with the location and the movement on his sinker and using his sinker in spring training. It’s a lot more confidence than mechanics of anything like that.”
As for the catching, Lalli will back up Welington Castillo at least until Steve Clevenger (oblique injury) comes off the DL, perhaps next weekend in Pittsburgh.
Lalli went into Friday’s game late and grounded out in his first major-league at-bat.
Praising Kerry:
Cubs teammates were sympathetic to pitcher Kerry Wood, who retired after Friday’s game.
“It’s not a good day when Kerry Wood retires,” said Jeff Samardzija, who started and lost the 3-2 decision to the White Sox.
“Hopefully, we’ll remember all the things he did great and all the great things he did for the city. Hopefully, he decides to stick around a little bit and bug us. That would be nice.”
Veteran pitcher Ryan Dempster joined the Cubs in 2004.
“It’s pretty impressive what he’s been able to do, play 15 years,” Dempster said. “He’s been a great teammate and a great friend. He’s been a great Chicago Cub.”
For Samardzija, playing with Wood was special, as Samardzija hails from northwest Indiana.
“I remember being a kid and my dad reading an article or something about Kerry working out in the pool; that’s why he threw 98 (mph),” Samardzija said. “My dad the next day has me in the pool kicking floaties around. Just things like that. For a kid growing up in the Midwest, that’s what Kerry was to us coming up, the dude you wanted to be. That’s how you wanted to throw. You wanted to throw hard. You wanted to throw a big curveball.”