The Cubs’ bullpen took another hit.
Before the series finale Sunday against the Mets, the Cubs put Mark Leiter Jr. on the 15-day injured list with a strained right forearm. To take Leiter’s place, the Cubs recalled left-hander Luke Little from Triple-A Iowa.
Leiter is 2-4 with a 5.34 ERA and has appeared in a team-leading 32 games. Expected to be one of the Cubs’ most reliable arms, Leiter has struggled recently. He has allowed runs in four consecutive appearances and has a 15.58 ERA in his last 12 outings.
Even with Leiter, the Cubs’ pitching depth was being tested. Their injured list includes erstwhile closer Adbert Alzolay, Yency Almonte, Ben Brown, Julian Merryweather and Jordan Wicks.
Through Saturday, Cubs relievers had a 4.44 ERA and had blown 16 of 34 save chances.
Little is 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 24 games, including one start. He had been optioned to Iowa on Saturday, when Keegan Thompson was activated from the paternity list.
Positive signs for Morel?
By the traditional numbers, Christopher Morel is not having a productive season. Morel, who hit his 15th home run (a two-run shot) Sunday, is hitting only .203 with a .304 on-base percentage.
But his underlying metrics say Morel will bust out if he keeps hitting the ball the way he has. According to Baseball Savant, Morel is in the 85th percentile of expected weighted on-base average at .361, a statistic that is formulated mostly by launch angle and exit velocity. Morel is in the 80th percentile of expected slugging percentage (.476) and the 78th percentile of barrels (11.3%), while his batting average on balls in play is only .211.
Perhaps Morel’s breakout began Saturday, when he had two hits and homered for the first time since June 11, sending a Tylor Megill pitch 446 feet with a 109.1 mph exit velocity.
“Whenever you’ve had a season like Christopher, you’re looking for when it’s going to change for the guy,” manager Craig Counsell said. “You need some good days. Obviously, you need some balls to go over the fence and you need some balls to fall in and you need the good days.
“We’re rooting for those good days, and we’ve got to have him string some together.”
Morel said he doesn’t pay attention to the batted-ball metrics and is only concerned about what he can control. I’m trying to give my best every time I get an opportunity,” Morel said. “I try to help the team out every time I can.”
Nico’s numbers
Nico Hoerner is 5-for-35 since June 14. Counsell doesn’t think it’s because of the broken bone in his right wrist that Hoerner suffered when he was hit by Hunter Greene’s 96.5 mph fastball on June 6.
“I don’t think we know for sure, but I don’t think he would use that, either,” Counsell said. “He’s just kind of going through a stretch since he’s come back [where he’s] just not swinging it well.”
Counsell said Hoerner did extra work Sunday to get back on track.