ST. LOUIS — The Cubs had to adjust their starting rotation with left-hander Shota Imanaga set to be activated from the 15-day injured list Thursday. They did so by optioning right-hander Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.
The move was tied to reliever Porter Hodge’s reinstatement from the 15-day IL, which will enable the Cubs to carry an extra bullpen arm for two days before Imanaga’s first start back.
‘‘Within your struggles, there’s growth,’’ manager Craig Counsell said he told Brown. ‘‘And you don’t know it at the time that it’s happening, but you are getting better. When you’re in the trees, it’s hard to see that.’’
Brown’s demotion came after he gave up eight runs on four two-run home runs to the Cardinals on Monday, but it wasn’t a make-or-break start. His performance has been a roller coaster this season, but he has regularly bounced back from his worst moments with excellent outings.
‘‘He’s a young pitcher,’’ veteran catcher Carson Kelly said after the Cubs’ 8-2 loss Monday. ‘‘There’s going to be some ups and downs, and there’s going to be some growing pains in some areas. But he’s got really good stuff, and he can pitch at this level.’’
After yielding five runs in four innings to the Padres in April, Brown pitched six scoreless innings against the Dodgers. After allowing eight runs to the Reds in late May, he faced them again the next week and held them scoreless through six. Then he backed up that outing with seven innings of two-run ball against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
While Brown has addressed his issue of settling into starts, facing lineups the third time through has remained a problem. The Cubs also plan to use Brown’s time in Triple-A to control his workload, Counsell said.
Part of Brown’s development will include continuing to work on his changeup, but Counsell emphasized that pitch was not the reason for the move.
‘‘Ben’s got a unique arsenal for a starter,’’ Counsell said after the game Monday. ‘‘And early in games, it can overpower people. And as they calibrate to it, then it requires him to be a little better with the execution. And if it’s not, then they’re picking a pitch. And if it’s in the wrong spot, there’s going to be problems.’’
At the back end of the rotation, right-handers Colin Rea and rookie Cade Horton have filled in since left-handers Justin Steele (season-ending elbow surgery) and Imanaga (strained left hamstring) landed on the IL.
While Rea (4.42 ERA), too, has had his ups and downs, pulling him from the rotation would mean shaking up a bullpen that has, apart from some recent hiccups, been clicking. And Horton (3.73 ERA) has demonstrated consistency and composure in his introduction to the big leagues.
Hodge, meanwhile, returned to the Cubs for the first time since mid-May, when a minor oblique strain landed him on the IL. At the time, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy noted Hodge also had been working through some tightness in his left hip. He later was diagnosed with an impingement in the hip, which lengthened his stay on the IL.
Hodge made four rehab appearances at Triple-A before joining the Cubs in St. Louis.
‘‘We’re going to give Porter some softer landings here in terms of getting him back into it,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘But it’s good to have him back, and we’ll try to get him out there regularly.
‘‘We know Porter can be an important piece and a big piece. I don’t think we’re there right now, and I think he needs to pitch a little bit more. But . . . we want to work toward getting him to that place.’’