The Cubs have put Michael Fulmer on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain, per a team announcement. The placement is retroactive to Aug. 25. The move creates a roster spot for Jordan Wicks, who has been promoted to make his MLB debut in a start against the Pirates Saturday night.
Fulmer’s checkered injury history includes an ulnar nerve transposition surgery in 2017 and a Tommy John procedure in 2019, so another forearm-related issue is certainly a major concern for the 30-year-old right-hander. The severity of his current strain isn’t known, but it would certainly seem like Fulmer could miss more than the minimum 15 days, perhaps simply as a precaution given his past injuries. As such, the possibility exists that Fulmer’s 2023 season could be in jeopardy, given the lack of time remaining on the MLB calendar.
Winning AL Rookie Of The Year honors with the Tigers in 2016, Fulmer’s injury-related absences eventually saw him move to full-time relief pitching, which gave his career a second act. After posting a 3.17 ERA over 113 1/3 innings with the Tigers and Twins from 2021-22, Fulmer signed a one-year, $4M free-agent deal to join the Cubs last winter.
The bottom-line performance hasn’t quite been there, as Fulmer has a 4.47 ERA over 56 1/3 frames for the Wrigleyville squad. However, a 3.96 SIERA basically matches Fulmer’s 3.80 SIERA from 2021-22, so it could be that things are just balancing out after a bit of good fortune in the previous two seasons. Fulmer has greatly improved his hard-hit ball rate and whiff rate (both sit in the 90th percentile of all pitchers), and his 27% strikeout rate is the best of his career. On the downside, Fulmer has struggled with his control for the second straight year, with his 11.6% walk rate ranking in the bottom 10th percentile of all pitchers.
A lot of Fulmer’s struggles came earlier in the season, as he had a 1.83 ERA over 34 1/3 innings and 32 appearances prior to a rough outing last Monday, when he gave up three runs over just a third of an inning against Detroit. Since Fulmer also pitched a scoreless inning on Thursday, it’s probably safe to assume that his forearm strain didn’t emerge during that Monday game.
Fulmer’s absence creates another hole in Chicago’s bullpen, but Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune writes that Brad Boxberger is set to make another rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday. Boxberger hasn’t pitched since mid-May due to a forearm strain of his own, but the veteran reliever looks to be on his way back to action. The news isn’t as good for Nick Burdi, who has also been out since May dealing with appendicitis, but the righty is now dealing with ulnar nerve irritation. More will be known about Burdi’s condition after he is re-evaluated in a few days’ time.
These bullpen injuries could explain why Drew Smyly will be headed back to the bullpen to provide some extra depth, while the Cubs turn to a younger arm like Wicks to try and fill the rotation gap left by Marcus Stroman (whose season is also in question due to a rib cartilage fracture). It makes for a lot of pitching questions for a team in a pennant race, as the Cubs currently hold the third NL wild-card spot and are still within range of the Brewers for first place in the NL Central.
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