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Cubs reliever Morrow shut down for season, Contreras, Zobrist getting closer

Any chance that the Chicago Cubs would get Brandon Morrow back in their bullpen this season has gone by the wayside.

Team president Theo Epstein said Wednesday that Morrow has suffered another setback in his comeback from an elbow ailment and that the next step likely is "a radial nerve release and decompression surgically."

"At this point, it's safe to say he's done for the year," Epstein said. "He certainly worked really hard in an attempt to come back and tried a lot of different techniques but just wasn't able to get over the hump.

"We feel bad for him, feel bad for us that he wasn't able to contribute this year. We've kind of sensed this coming for a little bit now. Since he hasn't been able to get over that hump, we've been operating under the assumption that he wouldn't help us recently and saw it as gravy if he could. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen."

Morrow, 35, signed a two-year, $21 million contract (with a vesting option for 2020) before the 2018 season. He saved 22 games last season, all before the all-star break. He did not pitch after the break because of right-biceps inflammation. Early last off-season, he underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right elbow.

He spent all of this year rehabbing at the Cubs' spring-training facility in Mesa, Ariz.

"I think he were really confident that he was going to pitch at a really high level when he was out there, and he did the first half (of) last year," Epstein said. "I look back. Maybe we should have had even more conservative sort of guidelines with him, or maybe there was nothing we could do. It's impossible to say. Obviously, he's had a significant injury history, which makes it a calculated risk.

"How good he was, you're going to know you were going to get quality when he's out there, but that there's the risk of not getting quantity, and that burned us for the last year and a half. That's on me."

Contreras steps it up:

Catcher Willson Contreras, who has been on the injured list since Aug. 4 with a strained right hamstring, did some running in the outfield Wednesday afternoon.

Contreras is not near a rehab assignment yet, with the total duration on the IL expected to be about four weeks.

"He's in what our trainers are calling the aggressive strengthening phase of his rehab," said Theo Epstein. "It's obvious he's building up the hamstring strength.

"You're going to see him on the field a lot more in the next few days and hopefully soon he'll be progressing to baseball activities."

Happy birthday, Sister Jean:

Cubs manager Joe Maddon began his pregame media session by wishing happy 100th birthday to Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team chaplain for the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team.

Sister Jean gained worldwide attention in the spring of 2018 as Loyola made a run to the NCAA Final Four. She threw out a ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day 2018 at Wrigley Field.

"Hopefully she gets a chance to come back around," said Maddon, who has visited with Sister Jean in his office. "I saw the pictures via Twitter. I was going to post something, but this is even better, to be able to do this in this manner to wish her happy birthday. When it comes to nuns, sisters, I grew up with them and I have so much respect and how she really represents that university. It's really cool, too.

"Happy birthday, Sister. When you get a chance, come back and see us. And I still owe you a ride with the basketball team in the '85 Olds station wagon. We got to get that done. That will be a very holy station wagon."

Zobrist timetable:

Theo Epstein said infielder-outfielder Ben Zobrist could return "around Sept. 1," as he continues his comeback. Zobrist has been on the restricted list since early May as he deals with personal issues related to his divorce. He will play Thursday for Class AA Tennessee Thursday and joint Class AAA Iowa for least Friday and Saturday.

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