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“We want to get a productive player back,"
manager Craig Counsell said before the Cubs played the San Diego
Padres on Tuesday night. “Sometimes you have to take a step back
to do that. At this level it’s production and the point we’re
at, obviously you give guys time to work through it but we just
thought we saw enough where we kind of needed to take a break
from this level and get some at-bats at Triple-A.”
Counsell, a former major league infielder, said it's normal for
young hitters to struggle.
“He’s just been up against it a little bit to start the year,”
he said. "Sometimes it is just some success that kind of
reframes it some and gets you good feelings back and good vibes
back and gets you back to being that offensive threat.”
The Cubs also placed right-hander Eli Morgan on the 15-day
injured list because of an elbow impingement. Infielder Vidal
Bruján was reinstated from the 10-day IL, and right-hander Nate
Pearson was optioned to Iowa.
Left-hander Luke Little and right-hander Daniel Palencia were
recalled from Triple-A before the Cubs' game at San Diego.
Counsell said Morgan felt something in his elbow on Monday
night, when he got two outs in a 10-4 loss. The team will figure
out what's next when it returns to Chicago after Wednesday's
game.
Morgan, acquired from Cleveland in November, has a 12.27 ERA in
seven appearances. He went 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 32 appearances
last season for the AL Central champion Guardians, who had the
best bullpen in the majors in 2024.
The Cubs were leading the NL Central at 11-8 entering Tuesday's
game against the Padres. They lost ace Justin Steele to a
season-ending left elbow injury.
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