Craig Counsell wasn’t exactly harboring a secret about Ian Happ.
“Ian’s struggled against left-handed pitching this year, there’s no question,” the Cubs’ manager said before Tuesday’s game.
For a second straight night against a Dodgers southpaw starter, the Cubs’ left fielder did not start in left field, out of the lineup partially as a break during the team’s stretch of 17 games in 17 days – and partially as an acknowledgement that the team has better options at this moment in time.
Perhaps no lefty in the game is as formidable as the one the Dodgers threw Tuesday night, their earth-shattering trade-deadline acquisition Tarik Skubal.
It hasn’t mattered, though, whether the left-hander Happ’s gone up against has been a two-time Cy Young winner or not. He hasn’t hit them, coming into Tuesday with a .530 OPS against lefties – only eight of baseball’s qualified hitters started the day with a lower mark – versus his .820 number against righties.
Counsell didn’t make this sound like a permanent banishment for the All Star and Gold Glover, one of the mainstays in the Cubs’ lineup. But with outfielder Tyrone Taylor in on a trade-deadline deal with the Mets, there’s somewhere else to turn, for the moment, at least.
Team president Jed Hoyer revealed Monday that Taylor fulfilled what was on Counsell’s deadline wishlist: a right-handed hitter he could bring off the bench, something the Cubs were lacking with utility man Matt Shaw sidelined for the last month and a half with a hand sprain that refuses to go away.
Taylor arrived Tuesday with a .301 batting average and a .900 OPS in 77 plate appearances against lefties this season.
“Ian’s still going to play against some lefties,” Counsell said. “But Tyrone gives us somebody, he’s going to get at-bats against left-handed pitching, for sure, and we’ll just take it from there.”
A night earlier, Kevin Alcantara started in left field. He hit his first big league homer in the Cubs’ win over the Dodgers, was subbed out for Happ once the lefty starter exited and was sent to the minors upon Taylor’s arrival.
Might that be the playbook, at least in the immediate future? We’ll see. Given Happ’s track record, it’s possible one breakout performance against lefties could win back however much playing time he’s set to lose.
But for now, Tyrone Taylor, come on down.
Tough on Tucker
Fans let former Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker know how they felt about his decision to ink a big-money free-agent deal with the juggernaut Dodgers, booing the outfielder at every turn during the first two games of a three-game series this week at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs acquired Tucker in a trade two offseasons ago, and he made the NL All-Star team after a spectacular first half last season. He was injured and slumped during the second half before leaving for free agency and $240 million from the back-to-back champs.
Whether Cubs fans felt spurned or just booed someone who joined baseball’s best team – Skubal, for example, received a similar treatment – they let Tucker have it.
Then Tucker let them have it, homering off Javier Assad in the second inning Tuesday.
Comeback trail
A trio of injured Cubs pitchers – lefty reliever Hoby Milner, righty starter Edward Cabrera and righty closer Daniel Palencia – are making their way back with minor league rehab appearances set for Wednesday with Triple-A Iowa.
New bullpen arm
The Cubs added righty reliever Ryan Zeferjahn to the active roster Tuesday after acquiring him in a deadline deal Monday, designating righty Jake Woodford for assignment to make room.