July 22: The Cubs today transferred Little to the 60-day injured list, according to Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune at X. His roster spot goes to righty Julian Merryweather reinstated to IL for 60 days. That's right The Great Hunter chosen to make Merryweather's place on the active roster.
July 20: Cubs on the left Luke Little He was placed on the injured list with a strained left shoulder before the All-Star break last week, and today he is the manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Patrick Mooney of The Athletic) that the injury “might” end the boy's season.
It's a brutal development for the 23-year-old rookie, who has been in excellent form since joining the club in September last year. Chicago's fourth-round pick from the 2020 draft, Little has posted a 2.76 ERA (158 ERA+) with a 3.61 FIP in 32 2/3 innings of work at the major league level so far in his young career and has flashed a brand of. a top talent that could make him a potential high power arm for the Cubs in the future.
The average hard throw averages over 96mph on his fastball and he's struck out a solid 28.8% of batters faced in the majors so far, but so far he's been plagued by control issues. The junior has walked 15.8% of opponents so far in his career, including 16.5% this season. While his ability to avoid giving up homers (he's only allowed one in his career so far) has allowed him to post strong results despite that lack of control, his 4.29 xFIP and 4.19 SIERA both suggest that his current production isn't. completely sustainable except that he can reduce his madness.
Even with those potential red flags on his profile, the loss of Little is still a devastating blow to the Cubs. Chicago's bullpen has been weak all season due to injuries to two top players Adbert Alzolay again Julian Merryweatherwhich forced the popularity of Hector Neris again Mark Leiter Jr. in prominent roles. Although a strong performance from young insiders like Little and Porter Hodge and savvy foreign pickups like Tyson Miller again Jorge Lopez have helped bolster Chicago's relief production in recent weeks, with only the Rockies and White Sox posting more saves than the Cubs' 18.
Stories about Small numbers to run a tax barn lost again by a right-hander Hayden Wesneski on the 15-day injured list today, though Counsel told reporters (including Mooney) that the club believes Wesneski's arm problem is not serious and he will be back on the mound in Chicago soon. The righty has pitched valuable innings for the Cubs while swinging between the bullpen and rotation this year and sports a 3.96 ERA (albeit with a lackluster 4.72 FIP) in 61 2/3 innings of work this season.
The bullpen's continued injury pile-up makes the relief corps an obvious area for improvement before the July 30 trade deadline, but the Cubs haven't clarified their plans for the deadline and enter today with a 47-53 record that leaves them dead. last in the NL Central and 4.5 games out of the NL Wild Card spot. Should the Cubs choose to stall or trade short-term assets like Neris and the veteran lefty Drew Smylythe club will remain hopeful that the likes of Merryweather and Alzolay can return fit later this year and provide a boost while youngsters like Hodge and The Great Hunter step up to catch a reasonable innings.
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