Cubs left-hander Justin Steele is set to return from the 15-day injured list Wednesday to start in the series finale against the A’s, manager Craig Counsell revealed Tuesday.
Steele (left elbow tendinitis) had been trending in that direction since coming out of a high-intensity 40-pitch bullpen session Saturday in Colorado feeling healthy. But the Cubs waited to announce his return date until after his light “touch and feel” bullpen session Monday went smoothly.
Steele’s IL stint will have gone just two days past the minimum allowed. His recovery timeline fell in the best-case-scenario range.
Counsell said Steele’s return will push back the rest of the starters a day, giving the team a six-man rotation for at least one turn.
The Cubs are also expecting back-end bullpen reinforcement in the coming days. Right-handed reliever Jorge Lopez (strained groin) becomes eligible to return from the IL on Wednesday. Lopez and rookie Porter Hodge were Counsell’s go-to arms in save situations before Lopez landed on the IL.
Right-handers Hayden Wesneski and Julian Merryweather were available to pitch for Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday for their fourth and second rehab outings, respectively. Both could return before the end of the season.
Roster moves
The Cubs recalled reliever Daniel Palencia from Triple-A Iowa and optioned reliever Trey Wingenter to Iowa.
Wingenter, whom the Cubs claimed off waivers from the Red Sox last month, allowed two runs in four innings in three outings with the major-league team. He threw 34 pitches Monday in the 9-2 win against the A’s, so he likely wouldn’t have been available Tuesday.
“It’s a business,” Wingenter said earlier this month of what he has learned in his career. “It can change really quickly, and that’s that. You can wake up one place and be in a completely different organization that night — on a different team, in the big-leagues, in Triple-A, at home. It can happen really quickly, so you have to definitely cherish every day and enjoy coming to the yard every day.”
Wingenter has played in three organizations this year.
Palencia is in his fourth MLB stint. He also spent time on the IL earlier this season with a shoulder injury. When he returned to the big leagues for two appearances at the end of August, his fastball averaged 100.7 mph in his first outing — a jump in velocity — but settled back to 98.6 in his second.
“My mindset is the biggest adjustment for me,” he said last month. “Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves for this game.”
Gold medals at Wrigley
Mallory Swanson and Alyssa Naeher, Olympic gold medalists and Red Stars standouts, took the mound for the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday’s game.
They wore the gold medals they won at the Paris Olympics this summer. The U.S. women’s national soccer team went undefeated, and Swanson’s team-leading fourth goal of the tournament secured the win in the gold-medal game.
Swanson, who exited the Red Stars’ last game after landing on her left shoulder, looked on as Naeher threw to her husband, Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson.