Why Cubs pushed back Jameson Taillon's start to Tuesday, activated Kyle Hendricks Sunday
The Cubs were considering having right-hander Jameson Taillon start on Sunday, but they are pushing back his next start to Tuesday. File photo.
Michael Reaves/Getty
PITTSBURGH – Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon said he didn’t feel any discomfort in his back when he tested it throwing off the mound Saturday.
“I thought it went well,” he said.
Regardless, the Cubs decided to push his next start to Tuesday in Atlanta and activate right-hander Kyle Hendricks to start on Sunday against the Pirates.
“I definitely think I could pitch [Sunday],” Taillon said. “But it's just the right thing to do.”
While putting together their rotation schedule, the Cubs have been juggling several moving pieces. Taillon tweaking his back on Tuesday was the first domino to fall. Then high-leverage reliever Yency Almonte landing on the injured list with a strained right shoulder created a chain reaction. He's set to return to Chicago for further testing.
The Cubs activated Hendricks from the 15-day IL on Sunday and optioned reliever José Cuas to Triple-A.
“This is a little need-based," manager Craig Counsell said before the game. "Frankly, we’re getting hit with some injuries here, and so, there's some need-base here. But I think Kyle's proven he's healthy. And so he's ready to go, in terms of health.”
Hendricks (strained lower back) was originally scheduled to make another rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday. He was stretched out enough for a major-league start, but he was also continuing to work on mechanical adjustments after posting a 12.00 ERA in his first five starts of the season.
Counsell said Friday before the game that it still could be in the cards for Taillon to “make a start here within the next couple days.” Rookie Ben Brown was another option for Sunday, but he was also available to throw multiple innings out of the bullpen if the Cubs needed him to in the two games before then.
After Counsell’s comments Friday, Almonte played catch, and it didn’t go well, making it clear that the Cubs would have to put him on the IL – a move they made official the next day. Brown was needed in the bullpen.
Counsell said they decided Friday that Taillon wasn’t going to pitch Sunday.
“It didn't make sense to not have him fully prepared going into this,” Counsell said Sunday. “We just can’t take risks injury-wise right now, we've got too many guys down. And so, we've got to be safe here, and this was the safest way to do it.”
On Saturday, Taillon went through a normal warmup, including plyo ball drills, and threw 10 to 15 pitches off the mound, he said.
“That's the thing we’ve always got to juggle is, OK, yes, he might feel like he can go out there and compete today,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told the Sun-Times. “But if you warm up and it doesn't feel good, or you’re in the third and you start to tighten up, what do we do then?”
There were fewer unknowns with Hendricks’ health Sunday – and Taillon’s health on Tuesday.
“If he feels good today, he's going to feel better in a couple of days,” Hottovy said.
With Taillon starting Tuesday, right-hander Hayden Wesneski will move to the bullpen for this turn in the rotation, Counsell said.