NEWSLETTER
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After legging out an infield single in the bottom of the third tonight, Mike Tauchman immediately – and aggressively – signaled for the athletic trainer to join him on the field.
Tauchman tried to stretch out a bit, but there was no way the Cubs were going to let him stay in the game after that. The official designation is “left groin tightness,” but you’ll forgive me if Tauchman’s immediate reaction makes me nervous that it’s going to feel worse than that tomorrow.
Tauchman has been one of the Cubs’ most reliable hitters this year, so losing him would not be fun. Hopefully this is not an Injured List situation, much less an absence longer than that.
Adding to the particular un-fun-ness of this one, a couple of the outfielders on the 40-man roster who’d be obvious call-ups (maybe even guys you’d WANT a chance to see) … may not be available. You’ve got Alexander Canario, who was on an absolute scorcher, but was pulled from a game this weekend with a reportedly minor injury. You’ve got Brennen Davis, who was on a scorcher before Canario was, but he has not played in a week for reasons unknown. So right now, I can’t say for sure either guy would be available to come up and take the starts otherwise taken by Tauchman (which the Cubs might allocate, by way of rotations, to Pete Crow-Armstrong anyway).
The Cubs could go way outside the box and bring up Owen Caissie (also on a scorcher!), though they’d have to make room for him on the 40-man roster. That’d also be a very aggressive call-up for his age. I doubt it.
I won’t go too much further until we know Tauchman is definitely hitting the IL.
