Cubs’ Jed Hoyer gets real on Shota Imanaga hamstring injury

The Chicago Cubs placed ace pitcher Shota Imanaga on the IL on Monday after he suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago will have to lean on the offense moving forward, as Imanaga’s return is up in the air. Jed Hoyer, who is the Director of Baseball Operations for the Cubs, opened up about the injury shortly after the team placed Imanaga on the IL.

Hoyer claimed that the Cubs will want the 31-year-old pitcher to get fully healthy before he returns to the mound, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Due to Imanage suffering from a hamstring injury, Chicago wants to ensure he’s fully healthy and doesn’t experience any setbacks to create a lingering problem.

“The most important thing with that kind of injury,” Hoyer said, “is to get him back and healthy for the remainder of the season, not just to get him back. You talk about returning to play versus returning to your previous form. That’s the most important thing, and it may take some time to get there.”

The Cubs placed the 2024 All-Star on the 15-day IL. That means the soonest Imanaga can return is in mid-June. However, it appears Chicago is not going to rush things with its ace pitcher.

That may be a smart move considering how well the team is playing in general. Although there are some injury woes in the rotation, the offense has been on point to start the season. The Cubs have the third-most home runs (53) and lead the league in RBIs (203) entering Monday’s contest against the San Francisco Giants.

Regardless, the team is going to miss Imanaga’s production on the mound. He’s been stellar through 44.2 innings pitched, as he owns a 2.82 ERA and 1.097 WHIP while recording 34 strikeouts. While the Cubs await his return to action, the pitching rotation will rely on Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Ben Brown, Colin Rea, and Chris Flexen.