MIAMI — The Cubs’ closer situation became murkier when they put right-hander Porter Hodge on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a strained left oblique.
Manager Craig Counsell said the team hopes Hodge’s injury is in the same category as left fielder Ian Happ’s strained left oblique from a week and a half ago. The Cubs activated Happ from the IL on Tuesday after a minimum 10-day stay.
‘‘The way [Hodge has] reported it has sounded very similar to Ian’s situation,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘But Ian’s situation resolved itself maybe four days or five days after we put him on the injured list. So we’ll see how the next week goes and how the weekend goes in Cincinnati, then have a better idea.’’
Hodge said he first felt discomfort in his oblique Friday. He didn’t think much of it but still alerted the training staff. He pitched a scoreless inning Saturday against the White Sox.
‘‘It kind of inflamed,’’ Hodge said of that outing. ‘‘And after that, [it] didn’t really go away but got better.’’
Hodge said the injury has continued to improve. But after he was still unavailable Monday, the Cubs put him on the IL and recalled reliever Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa.
A couple of high-scoring outings have inflated Hodge’s ERA to 5.12 this season, but he has allowed multiple runs in only two of his 21 appearances. All but two of his last 11 outings (2.79 ERA) have been scoreless.
In the last week and a half, Hodge had become the Cubs’ No. 1 option in save situations after they moved Ryan Pressly into more of a seventh- and eighth-inning role. They are expected to take a closer-by-committee approach — at least in the short term.
‘‘Frankly, the next couple of days, we’re a little tired in the bullpen, so availability is going to be an issue,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘And that means that the guys that are available are going to be thrust in some different spots.’’
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said Hodge also has had tightness in his hip, which likely has affected his fastball command.
‘‘Being able to spend some time to focus on [fastball command] while we’re ramping him back up is going to be a really positive thing,’’ Hottovy said.