The Cubs have positioned right-hander Jorge López on the 15-day injured record as a consequence of a proper groin pressure, with fellow righty Trey Wingenter recalled because the corresponding transfer. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune was amongst these to relay the information on X.
López, 31, was added to the Cubs’ roster on the finish of June and he shortly took on a outstanding position within the membership’s bullpen. In simply over two months as a Cub, he made 22 appearances, logging 24 2/3 innings. He allowed 2.19 earned runs per 9, struck out 28% of batters confronted, restricted walks to an 8% clip and obtained grounders on 60.3% of balls in play. He recorded a pair of saves and three holds.
Now he’ll be faraway from the membership’s high-leverage aid combine, which is an unlucky blow to a bullpen that has been pretty unstable this yr. Adbert Alzolay took over the nearer’s job final yr however he spent numerous 2024 on the injured record and ultimately required Tommy John surgical procedure in August. Héctor Neris grabbed the nearer’s position for many of this season however was shaky sufficient to get launched in August and has since signed with the Astros. Mark Leiter Jr. was one in every of Chicago’s key setup males however he was traded to the Yankees previous to the deadline. Different key items like Yency Almonte and Julian Merryweather are on the injured record for the time being.
All of these points opened the door for López to step up however now he, too, will likely be unavailable. It’s unclear precisely when he sustained this harm however maybe it explains his poor outcomes the final day trip. Although his numbers as a Cub have been nice total, they have been even higher earlier than Monday, when he confronted the Pirates and allowed 4 earned runs on 4 hits, together with two house runs.
The Cubs are 4.5 video games out of a playoff spot and nonetheless within the race, however will now need to proceed with out López. That may probably depart some mixture of Porter Hodge, Drew Smyly and Tyson Miller taking the necessary bullpen roles. The membership’s pitching employees additionally took one other hit immediately, with Justin Steele additionally heading to the injured record.
