Kyle Tucker’s calf is still in bad enough shape to keep him out of the Cubs’ starting lineup, his absence extending to a third consecutive missed game Saturday.
But manager Craig Counsell gave a much more positive update on his right fielder than the one he delivered after -Friday’s game, when he discussed a disappointing lack of progress.
“He showed improvement today,” Counsell said Saturday, “and that’s what we wanted, we wanted some improvement.”
There was enough of it that the Cubs didn’t send Tucker to the injured list, even though Counsell said Tucker will probably remain out of the starting lineup Sunday against the Nationals.
“We’re just going to treat it as day-to-day and see where that gets us,” the skipper said. “We think we have time to let this heal without putting him on the injured list. We think he’ll be ready before [the end of] what an injured-list [stay] would cost him.
“Having the extra player in September, we feel like we’re not playing short, really. We don’t feel like, from a roster perspective, it hurts us at all.
“We’re still going to be conservative with it. But because we felt like we saw improvement today, we think it’s worth, basically, taking a day-to-day track with this. If we didn’t think we were going in the right direction, that would have maybe changed our decision.”
The Cubs are not short on outfield options while Tucker works to put the calf tightness behind him. Willi Castro started in right field Friday and Saturday. Kevin Alcantara is on the active roster, too. And Seiya Suzuki can move from his usual DH spot to the outfield, if needed.
Of course, the Cubs would prefer to minimize their time without Tucker, as a lengthy midsummer slump gave way to a hot stretch that started during the team’s recent road trip. In his last 11 games, Tucker is slashing .400/.489/.800 with four home runs, four doubles and 11 RBI.
PCA’s early exit
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong made an early exit Saturday after fouling a pitch off his knee in the sixth inning.
After a lengthy visit from the trainer, Crow-Armstrong finished the plate appearance, drawing a walk, before being removed when the Cubs took the field to start the seventh, replaced by Alcantara.
“It just hurts,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’m no use, really, out there if I’m not moving the way I should be, so I felt our best chance was not having me move around limply out there today.
“I’ve never fouled a ball straight off my kneecap before. There’s definitely s–t that’s hurt worse, but this hurts. And the legs are funny. That’s how I help the cause on a daily basis, with my legs. It was a good stinger.”
The Cubs called it a bruised right knee. Counsell said they’ll take it day to day.
Crow-Armstrong had one of his team’s three hits and scored the Cubs’ only run in the 2-1 defeat.
Soroka soon?
Right-hander Michael Soroka will soon begin a rehab assignment, assuming all goes well in the wake of the live batting-practice session he threw Saturday.
Soroka, whom the Cubs acquired from the Nationals at the trade deadline, departed his first outing with them after just two innings and hit the IL with a strained shoulder Aug. 5. Should he get the green light to begin a rehab stint, he’ll pitch Wednesday with Iowa, Counsell said.