Chicago Cubs Monitoring Health Status of Important Trio of Stars

With a focus on strengthening their starting rotation and bullpen, the Chicago Cubs are preparing for the MLB trade deadline.

That need is unsurprising, as injuries have depleted the starting rotation that is without Justin Steele due to season-ending surgery on his left elbow. The bullpen needs a reliever with experience in high-leverage situations.

The Cubs will undoubtedly need to bolster that in the trade market and could consider another impact hitter, particularly with the update on star right fielder Kyle Tucker.

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Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required) reported on important status updates on Tucker, starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, and reliever Drew Pomeranz.

The curious absence of Tucker from Sunday’s lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates drew notice, as Chicago has an off day on Monday and Pirates starter Mitch Keller has a poor track record against lefty hitters.

Cubs' manager Craig Counsell acknowledged that Tucker's recovery from a sprained right ring finger on June 1 is not complete, and they are still closely monitoring his condition.

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“It’s there. It’s not bad. But this was a chance to try to get him two days without swinging a bat,” Counsell said.

Tucker did enter as a pinch hitter Sunday in the 10th inning, but was intentionally walked. He’s slashing .244/.380/.415 with just one home run through 13 games in June.

Should that finger issue linger, Chicago’s intentions at the trade deadline may be altered. There’s no way the roster can manage the loss of Tucker's base running, Gold Glove defense, and power at the plate.

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On the positive side, Imanaga is progressing considerably well through rehab. Mooney reports that the All-Star pitcher threw 55 pitches between his Triple-A Iowa start on Saturday and an extra bullpen session.

The Cubs are evaluating whether he requires an additional Triple-A start, set for Friday, based on his impressive throwing performance. The goal is for Imanaga to build up his pitch count to 75, and if that goes seamlessly, he could return as early as late June against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The decision to have Pomeranz unavailable Sunday was reportedly not due to his recent lower back tightness he incurred on Saturday. Instead, the decision stemmed from his workload, given that he would have faced back-to-back days.

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That’s been an overarching cautious approach that Chicago has taken with Pomeranz, as his history of arm injuries kept him out of major league play since 2021.

However, he’s been a strong bullpen addition, as entering June 16, he carries a 0.00 ERA through 25.2 innings with 16 strikeouts to 5 walks.

The pitching updates are nothing but positive; the update on Tucker however is a bit more concerning and something to keep a close watch on in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline.

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