Cubs lose Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks, Kyle Hendricks likely to rejoin the rotation

The Chicago Cubs’ return to Wrigley Field on Friday brought bad news for a pair of young starters.

First, manager Craig Counsell provided a pregame update on Ben Brown, who was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday (retroactive to Sunday) with a left neck strain. According to Counsell, Brown was diagnosed with a “stress reaction” in his neck.

“It’s a unique injury, a little bit of a rare injury for a pitcher,” Counsell said.

This will likely mean Brown is out for longer than the 15-day minimum stay on the IL. Counsell expects the Cubs to be without Brown for a while, and the team is “still trying to figure out exactly how long and what it means and what he can do.

“We’re trying to get some more opinions and figure out exactly what’s next for him,” Counsell said 

There wasn’t a clear moment when the injury happened, according to the Cubs’ skipper. The injury initially manifested as a stiff neck, but as days went by and it didn’t get better, it became apparent that the injury was something more serious.

Adding to the pitching troubles, Jordan Wicks left in the second inning of Friday’s 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals with right oblique discomfort. He had cruised pretty nicely through almost two innings, but he left after giving up a two-out single to St. Louis’ Dylan Carlson. He initially felt some tightness a few pitches prior to the base hit.

“I didn’t think a whole lot of it,” Wicks said. “Threw a couple more, and it just didn’t get any better. When it persisted a couple pitches in a row, I knew something wasn’t right.”

Wicks just returned from the IL a week ago; he’d previously dealt with a left forearm strain that had sidelined him since April 25. Going forward, Wicks will get imaging done Saturday to determine the severity of his oblique injury. From there, the Cubs will make a decision about whether or not he goes back on the shelf.

Counsell’s initial feeling after Friday’s game was that Wicks is most likely going to need time on the IL. That would leave the Cubs short two starting pitchers. Kyle Hendricks pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Wicks on Friday, and according to Counsell, Hendricks is the probable candidate to take the rotation spot left open by the pair of young arms.

“We’ll take a look and see where we’re at, but we’re down pitchers right now,” Counsell said. “You lose two guys within four days, and Kyle, the fact that he threw a bunch of innings today and is not going to be available for a while — we’ll see where we’re at when we get there, but I think it looks like it.”

The Cubs have Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon slated to pitch the Saturday and Sunday games of this weekend’s series against the Cardinals, respectively. When the San Francisco Giants come in to begin a three-game series Monday night, Javier Assad and Justin Steele are lined up to take the ball the first two games.

That would mean Wednesday is the first game the Cubs might need covered by Hendricks. By then, he would be on the normal five-day rest for a starting pitcher. 

No decision on Wicks’ status will be made until Saturday at the earliest, and Hendricks would not likely be moved back into the rotation officially until next week, but as things currently stand, the most likely outcome is another IL stint for Wicks and another turn on the starting staff for Hendricks.

The timing of Brown and Wicks’ injuries hurts, not only because the Cubs are a loss to the Cardinals away from dropping nine of their last 10 series and continue to slip further down the division standings, but also because starting pitching is the one facet of the team that has been steady and reliable. Going into Friday’s contest, their rotation’s ERA (3.54) was the eighth-lowest in baseball. 

Brown, in particular, had dazzled on the mound. Over his last seven appearances, he posted a 2.93 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP. Against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 28, he no-hit Milwaukee for seven innings and struck out 10 batters.

Wicks looked sharp as well after returning from his forearm injury; he pitched out of the bullpen against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday and allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings. Friday was his first turn back in the rotation, and in his 1 2/3 innings pitched, he gave up two singles but had two strikeouts and no walks.

These injuries make it a near certainty that Hendricks will shift back out of the bullpen. He moved there from the rotation after a disastrous start to the season — Hendricks had an 11.94 ERA at the end of April and gave up seven runs on 11 hits in his last start on May 17 against the Pirates – and since moving to the bullpen, Hendricks has looked gradually more like his former self. His ERA is down to 8.20 after Friday’s outing, and he has not given up a run since May 29.

“In a lot of ways, Kyle continues to impress you, even though he’s had a tough go of it so far,” Counsell said. “He’s worried about the things that he can control, and that’s to be ready when his name is called and to not make it any more complicated than that. Easier said than done with what Kyle has accomplished and what he has meant here.”

On Friday, Hendricks had to be ready to pitch with no notice, warming up on the mound in front of over 40,000 fans at Wrigley Field. He then went on to keep the Cardinals off the bases for over three innings, not giving up a hit until the sixth inning, but after back-to-back singles by St. Louis’ Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson, he retired Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado to get out of the inning.

“His outing today is proof that that’s how Kyle conducts himself and goes about his day,” Counsell said. “[Which] is to be ready for the next opportunity, no matter what is going on or no matter what’s happened in the past. I thought today was a great example of it.”