Chicago Cubs Star Heads to IL with Calf Strain

The Chicago Cubs have placed star Outfielder Kyle Tucker on the 10-day injured list with a calf strain. Tucker has been dealing with the calf issue for a while, and after the injury flared up before Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, the front office decided to put Tucker on the IL. The 10-day stint is retroactive to Saturday, meaning Tucker is eligible to come back next Tuesday, September 16.

The injury means that the Chicago Cubs will have to replace Tucker in right field for at least the next week. The Chicago Cubs called up Moises Ballesteros to take Tucker’s spot on the active roster, but he won’t be the primary right fielder in Tucker’s absence. Seiya Suzuki will likely step into the right field role from being the full-time designated hitter. Willi Castro could end up playing right field more, and prospect Kevin Alcantara could get more playing time as a result of the Tucker injury.

Calf Strain Lands Kyle Tucker on IL

The Chicago Cubs are sending Kyle Tucker to the 10-day injured list with a calf strain. The star outfielder has been afflicted with a right calf injury for months after hurting it against the Kansas City Royals in the middle of July. While he was able to manage the injury, Tucker suffered a setback Tuesday afternoon ahead of the Chicago Cubs’ game against the Atlanta Braves, and the team decided to give him a break to help rehab the calf ahead of the final two weeks of the regular season. Tucker’s IL stint is retroactive to Saturday, so he will be eligible to come back next Tuesday.

When asked about the injury, Tucker said, “I was hoping to feel good today and coming in and hopefully getting in there, but obviously it didn’t really work out like that, so that part is kind of frustrating. I’ve just got to kind of take care of it for now and get back whenever I can.” Talking about the pregame workout that exacerbated the calf injury, the 28-year-old said, “It got a little tighter and was still kind of bothering me, so we kind of stopped it then.”

With Tucker out of the lineup and off the active roster, the Chicago Cubs are turning to Ballesteros for the third time this season. Ballesteros will be a role player on the bench, likely as a pinch hitter in key situations. Suzuki will go back to his original position at right field and open up the designated hitter spot to the rest of the lineup for the next week. Castro and Alcantara stand to see some more time in the outfield and in the lineup as a result of Tucker’s absence.

Extent Of Impact On the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are pretty well-fixed in their playoff position. With 16 games left in the regular season, the Cubs sit 5.5 games back in the NL Central and are 7 games clear of the Wild Card threshold, 4 games ahead of the San Diego Padres for the top wild card seed. The main concern for the rest of the season for the Chicago Cubs is getting as healthy as possible and making sure they are in the best position possible for October.

Getting Tucker healthy is worth infinitely more than the next ten games for the Chicago Cubs’ season goals. With Suzuki ready to step up and capable role players on the bench, the team will be able to weather Tucker’s absence. Having a 28-year-old superstar as healthy as possible could make the difference for the Chicago Cubs this postseason, and the hope is that after this IL stint, that is what the Chicago Cubs will have.

When asked if this is likely to happen, Tucker said, “Obviously, you’ve got to take it day by day. I mean, I was hoping to play today, but that’s not really going to happen. That’s my goal — do everything I can to try to get back as soon as the amount of time’s up.” On the same subject, Manager Craig Counsell said, “At this point, I don’t know. I’m hopeful, but I think I was wrong in terms of avoiding the IL. We just have to get to a point where he’s not symptomatic and not feeling it doing baseball activities.”