The depleted Chicago Cubs are putting another player on the injured list.
The Chicago Cubs keep getting hits, and not all of them are good. The Cubs can’t seem to go a week without losing someone to injury, as the team added another member to the injured list on Wednesday. Keegan Thompson, a right-handed reliever, was the latest victim, landing on the 15-day injured list with a viral ailment.
Thompson last pitched on May 11 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up three runs in one inning in a 10-9 loss. The 29-year-old journeyman hasn’t looked good lately, giving up eight hits and nine runs in three innings in May after not surrendering a single run in April.
Perhaps Chicago is utilising Thompson’s trip in Illinois as an opportunity to give him a break and work out the kinks. Meanwhile, Luke Little, a left-handed pitcher, will take his spot in the bullpen.
The Cubs called up Little from Triple-A Iowa, where he’s been for the past few weeks. Little opened the season in the majors but pitched poorly, yielding a 7.00 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP in his first 10 appearances before getting sent down.
The 23-year-old southpaw will try to right the ship after his rocky start. In four appearances with Iowa, Little logged a 4.05 ERA and continued to struggle with his control, issuing seven walks in 6 2/3 innings.
Walks have always been an issue for Little, who has a career 6.3 BB/9 in the majors. He’ll try to replicate his success from last year when he had 12 strikeouts and no runs allowed in his first 6 2/3 MLB innings.
In the meantime, Little will try to help Chicago keep trying to win games. The resilient Cubs have gone 24-19 entering play on Wednesday despite placing a whopping 15 players in the IL already. They currently have eight players there now, including seven pitchers.
The injuries seem to be taking a toll on Chicago, which has fallen out of first place in the NL Central and lost 10 of its last 17 games heading into Wednesday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves. Despite being shorthanded, the Cubs will try to salvage the series with a win tonight and avoid getting swept.
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