CINCINNATI \u2014 As the Chicago Cubs continue to discuss their postseason plans, Kyle Tucker\u2019s status remains uncertain, making this an important week for the All-Star outfielder who\u2019s been sidelined with a strained left calf for nearly all of September.<\/p>\n
Tucker left the team before last week\u2019s clinch party in Pittsburgh, traveling to Florida to consult with a Tampa-based physical therapist and receive additional treatment. Tucker, who grew up in Tampa, has worked with this group before, as part of his offseason training and while he was playing for the Houston Astros.<\/p>\n
In this current rehab program, Tucker has not yet progressed to running, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Sunday, though he has been hitting. After multiple sessions of physical therapy, Tucker is scheduled to travel to Chicago later on Monday and then get reevaluated before Tuesday\u2019s game at Wrigley Field. For now, Counsell is essentially ruling Tucker out of that night\u2019s lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have to just kind of assess progress at that point,\u201d Counsell said before Sunday\u2019s 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to figure out when and if he\u2019s going to be available.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clearly, this is not an ideal situation. Assuming Tucker is unavailable Tuesday, that would leave only five more games on the regular-season schedule. \u201cOf course,\u201d Counsell said, \u201cyou\u2019d want some at-bats. And he\u2019s said that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tucker also might be one of those naturally gifted hitters who can just show up for the playoffs and produce. His pregame routine is known to be light. He doesn\u2019t wear himself out in the batting cage. He goes by feel and tries to keep a simple approach.<\/p>\n
That low-maintenance program works for Tucker, an even-keeled personality who returned from a fractured right shin last season and immediately started contributing again. That example with the Astros gives the Cubs some degree of reassurance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cHe had a tremendous September last year coming off a similar situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having their best hitter approaching a one-month layoff right before the playoffs is not how the Cubs would have scripted this. But as Counsell said, to keep playing October baseball, a team needs certain players to do special things.<\/p>\n
Kyle Schwarber missed almost the entire 2016 season and still became a Cubs legend during that World Series. In the third game of that season, Schwarber wrecked his left knee during an outfield collision and sat out two playoff rounds before making his stunning comeback.<\/p>\n
Schwarber warmed up with only eight plate appearances in the Arizona Fall League and then produced seven hits and three walks in five World Series games. Thereby proving, a Cubs official once joked, that spring training is totally overrated.<\/p>\n
Tucker previously indicated that he does not need a specific amount of at-bats to get ready for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody knows the right answer to that question,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cWe have history on both sides of it. We have examples on both sides of it. We feel better if we see it, right? It just makes us feel better. I could feel better, but it\u2019s not going to help on Tuesday. If Cubs fans feel better, it\u2019s not going to help on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beautiful part about it, for him, is I really don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to help him. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s wired that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Shota Imanaga is still searching for answers, trying to fine-tune his game for the playoffs. The Japanese pitcher acknowledged that he needs to find better consistency with his delivery, a manageable issue that can be linked to the strained left hamstring he felt in May.<\/p>\n
Imanaga spent almost two months on the injured list, which might have helped preserve his left arm for October. For the season, though, he has a 6.75 ERA in the first inning, and he\u2019ll have to figure it out quickly during his first start in a major-league postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, it feels like every day is a little different,\u201d Imanaga said through an interpreter. \u201cObviously, when you\u2019re doing well, there\u2019s consistency with it. But for me right now, it\u2019s finding what\u2019s working that day and then making an adjustment there. Hopefully, I make that adjustment early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Imanaga has produced another strong season (9-7, 3.37 ERA), albeit at a notch below last year\u2019s All-Star performance, which put his name in the National League\u2019s Cy Young and Rookie of the Year voting. As a flyball pitcher, he has demonstrated a unique ability to minimize damage and play that cat-and-mouse game.<\/p>\n
Still, Imanaga has allowed 29 home runs through 139 innings this season, a jump from the 27 home runs he gave up in 173 1\/3 innings last year. His stuff, a rival evaluator noted, is not quite as crisp.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something I\u2019ve been trying to work on, but it seems like the opposing hitters have the upper hand there,\u201d Imanaga said. \u201cLooking at the home runs, a lot of them tend to be fastballs, so it\u2019s either change the usage or better execution. It\u2019s something that I need to take a deeper look at, and then see what we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Daniel Palencia checked the boxes during Saturday\u2019s rehab appearance with Triple-A Iowa, testing his right shoulder and feeling good enough that he was scheduled to return to Chicago on Sunday, seemingly moving closer to claiming his spot in a playoff bullpen.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll rejoin us,\u201d Counsell said, \u201cand we\u2019ll figure out activation.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Sunday marking the end of Iowa\u2019s season, the Cubs are planning to assemble a taxi squad at their Arizona complex so that players such as catcher Miguel Amaya, reliever Porter Hodge and pitcher Ben Brown can continue training.<\/p>\n
Amaya, who\u2019s on the injured list with a sprained left ankle and pushing to return, handled some catching duties during his Triple-A rehab assignment.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Brad Keller was cut by the worst team in major-league history.<\/p>\n
As the Chicago White Sox stumbled toward 121 losses last year, they promoted Keller from Triple-A Charlotte in late April, and then used him in five games before designating him for assignment in May. The rejection turned around his career.<\/p>\n
The Boston Red Sox quickly added Keller, exposing him to new information and different ideas about pitching while he bounced between the majors and Triple A. With a 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame, he had primarily handled a starter\u2019s workload over six seasons with the Kansas City Royals. When the Cubs signed him to a minor-league deal last winter, it looked like he might provide some depth for the rotation.<\/p>\n
Keller, 30, has instead become the best reliever on a playoff contender that built a strong bullpen around overlooked pitchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first time I\u2019ve ever been on a winning team, first time I\u2019ve been in a winning season in my career,\u201d Keller said. \u201cI\u2019m having the most fun I\u2019ve had playing baseball. Each day, you go into it expecting to win, versus some teams I\u2019ve been on where you almost check the box in a way, which I hate to say. But that was kind of the attitude, especially late in the season when you\u2019re kind of out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keller\u2019s experience with the Red Sox, combined with his offseason program at the Maven Baseball Lab in Atlanta, helped clean up his mechanics and boost his velocity. A groundball pitcher suddenly had more swing-and-miss stuff.<\/p>\n
After being used as an opener and a closer and in all sorts of high-leverage situations in between, Keller (2.13 ERA in 66 appearances) will clearly be in the manager\u2019s playoff circle of trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve grown a lot as a pitcher,\u201d Keller said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve added a lot to my arsenal and things like that. My mentality on the mound has changed quite a bit. But I\u2019m not trying to focus on that now. Let\u2019s do this as a team and get in the playoffs and do something special.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo: Geoff Stellfox \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CINCINNATI \u2014 As the Chicago Cubs continue to discuss their postseason plans, Kyle Tucker\u2019s status remains uncertain, making…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":246207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1271,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-246206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-chicago-cubs","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115247736779466657","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}