Yet another Cubs pitcher goes on injured list, Hodge called up
It was a day ending in “y,” so naturally another Cubs pitcher went on the injured list.
This time is was Colten Brewer with a low back strain, while the Cubs called up right-hander Porter Hodge, who will make his MLB debut when he gets in a game. Hodge pitched for Iowa on Thursday, so he didn't make an appearance in Friday's game.
Brewer became the 16th Cubs player to go on the injured list this season, and they now have nine pitchers on the IL.
Hodge is a Salt Lake City native, drafted out of high school by the Cubs in the 13th round in 2019. He got off to a decent start at Double A Tennessee this year and was promoted to Triple A for the first time. In 10 appearances for Iowa, he has a 6.55 ERA.
“Porter is a young pitcher with a very good arm,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It's a little fast for Porter, frankly, but it's a good arm and this is going to be a good experience for him and this is going to be development for him, for sure. Just being here and being around this is going to be really good development for him. Porter needs to log innings.”
The Cubs are down to just one healthy pitcher in the minors who is also on the 40-man roster, Michael Arias in Double A.
Health check:
Here are some updates on the Cubs' long list of injured pitchers.
Julian Merryweather, on the 60-day IL with a rib stress fracture, is in Arizona and the hope is he'll take the first step in a throwing program Monday. Manager Craig Counsell admitted it will take a while to get him back up to speed.
“He's turned the corner a little bit and is doing well,” Counsell said. “This is going to be longer than 60 days. He's been shut down for close to six weeks here.”
Yency Almonte (right shoulder strain) is still in the strengthening phase, but the Cubs hope he can start throwing next week. Jordan Wicks (left forearm strain) threw some live batting practice on the field Friday, while Keegan Thompson (viral illness) is back with the team.
Around the horn:
The Cubs have two pitchers — Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad — with an ERA under 1.50. The last time they had two pitchers below 1.50 with at least 40 innings pitched was July 3, 1977, when Bruce Sutter had a 0.77 ERA and Paul Reuschel 1.39. They have't had two starters below 1.50 since 1919 (Hippo Vaughn, Phil Douglas). …
After his triple in Atlanta on Wednesday, Pete Crow-Armstrong moved up in the StatCast sprint speed rankings. At 29.8 feet per second, he's in a four-way tie for fourth best in MLB, with, among others, Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz. The fastest player in the majors, according to this measurement, is Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. at 30.4 feet per second.
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