NEWSLETTER
Today the Chicago Cubs placed reliever Yency Almonte on the Injured List with a right shoulder strain. Jose Cuas has been recalled from Iowa to take his place in the bullpen.
Almonte, together with Mark Leiter Jr., had been performing as pretty much one of the only consistently-reliable later-inning arms in the current Cubs bullpen. So this injury timing really, really sucks. And anything with the shoulder makes you nervous about a timeline, even if the “strain” part suggests it is muscular, rather than structural. So this is just bad. I am nervous.
It’s just the latest in a string of early-season injuries to key players for the Cubs. Have to keep humming along as best as possible.
The swap at least leaves the shape of the bullpen intact, since both Almonte and Cuas are righties who are generally more effective against righties.
But can Cuas generate results like Almonte had been? Well, he’s been striking guys out like crazy in the minors (45.9% K), but we saw earlier this year how dodgy things can get for him when the control goes.
