Javier Assad becomes latest pitcher to go on IL; Cubs sign reliever Vinny Nittoli
SAN FRANCISCO — The Cubs’ pitching staff suffered another hit Thursday as right-hander Javier Assad landed on the 15-day injured list with a strained right forearm.
The Cubs signed reliever Vinny Nittoli — who took part in spring training with them last year and played 16 games for Triple-A Iowa — to fill Assad’s vacated spot on the active roster. They also transferred reliever Yency Almonte (strained right shoulder) from the 15-day IL to the 60-day to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Assad had been dealing with the forearm issue on and off for the last couple of weeks.
“But it was getting better as time went by,” he said through an interpreter. “It wasn’t until a few days ago that I was throwing and then the pain came back, and then it just stayed.”
Right-hander Hayden Wesneski, who opened a bullpen game Wednesday against the Giants, allowing three runs in four innings, is expected to join the rotation in Assad’s absence.
Manager Craig Counsell didn’t give a specific timeline for Assad’s recovery but said he hopes the injury will resolve quickly with rest and that Assad can avoid a long IL stint.
In the last three weeks alone, the Cubs have put three starters on the IL: Assad, Jordan Wicks (strained right oblique) and Ben Brown (neck). Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks all spent time on the IL earlier this season.
“As we get players back, we lose a player, and so we’re kind of thin always,” Counsell said. “But you’ve just got to deal with it, manage it as best you can.”
Counsell said Wicks likely won’t return until after the All-Star break. The Cubs are proceeding cautiously with Brown, who’s progressing in his throwing program and estimated he threw 16 or 17 pitches in his first bullpen session Wednesday.
Imanaga starts, Happ finishes
Left-hander Shota Imanaga held the Giants to three runs in six innings in Thursday’s 5-3 victory, bouncing back after giving up 10 runs to the Mets in his previous start. He didn’t give up a run until the sixth, when Jorge Soler put the Giants on the board with a two-out RBI double. The next two runs scored on a wild pitch and a soft ground-ball single to tie the game 3-3.
Relievers Luke Little, Tyson Miller, Hector Neris (7-2) and Porter Hodge combined for four scoreless innings, and the offense did just enough to secure the win in 10 innings.
After second baseman Nico Hoerner’s two-run homer in the third, the Cubs tacked on another run that inning with on Seiya Suzuki’s RBI triple.
Ian Happ’s two-run homer in the 10th won the game.
Happy to be back
Nittoli’s brief first stint in the Cubs organization ended with a trade to the Mets last June. He signed a minor-league deal with the A’s last offseason and had a 2.25 ERA in seven major-league appearances before being designated for assignment last week.
“The pitching analytics here are awesome,” Nittoli said of the Cubs. “So it’s something that I’ve really liked.”
