Cubs hopeful Tucker (calf strain) will require minimum IL stint

ATLANTA -- Kyle Tucker was hoping to arrive at Truist Park on Tuesday and have his name back in the Cubs’ lineup for the first time in a week. The outfielder had ramped up his activity on Monday and he appeared to be turning a corner with the right calf injury that has kept him out of the mix.

The plans changed when Tucker reported a resurgence of discomfort while going through some early drills prior to Tuesday’s game against the Braves. The Cubs opted to place the star right fielder on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Saturday) and recalled catcher Moisés Ballesteros to add a bat to the bench.

“I was hoping to feel good today and coming in and hopefully getting in there,” Tucker said. “But obviously, it didn’t really work out like that, so that part is kind of frustrating. I’ve just got to kind of take care of it for now and get back whenever I can.”

Given the timing of the IL stint, Tucker will be eligible to return on Sept. 16 at the earliest. Manager Craig Counsell said the additional week will allow Tucker to get out of the “day to day feeling” with his pregame work and instead focus on using the next few days to rest and recover.

Counsell was careful when asked if Tucker should be able to return after a minimum stay on the IL.

“At this point, I don’t know,” Counsell said. “I’m hopeful, but I think I was wrong in terms of avoiding the IL. We just have to get to a point where he’s not symptomatic and not feeling it doing baseball activities.”

Tucker said he can still throw and hit with no trouble, but running continues to be an issue. Prior to Monday’s game vs. Atlanta, he went through a series of agility and running drills to up the intensity with testing the calf. After that session, Counsell sounded optimistic that Tucker might be in the lineup by Tuesday and avoid an IL stint.

That made Tuesday’s development a bit of a surprise turn for all involved.

“I think Kyle was a little surprised and obviously disappointed, but it is what it is,” Counsell said. “That’s why we did a little more [on Monday] -- to put a little more effort into it and see how it was going to feel. And it didn’t respond well.”

Tucker said his calf typically has felt better as he has warmed up and moved during running work in recent days. The difference on Tuesday was that the soreness continued and worsened somewhat as he tried to go through activities.

“It got a little tighter and was still kind of bothering me,” Tucker said. “So, we kind of stopped it then.”

With Tucker out, the Cubs can continue to use utility man Willi Castro in the outfield rotation, along with Kevin Alcántara and Seiya Suzuki (normally the designated hitter).

Ballesteros, the club’s No. 2 prospect and No. 50 in MLB per MLB Pipeline, returns to the big leagues after playing in six games -- five in May and one in July -- during his debut season. He has four hits in 18 at-bats during his limited time in the Majors. Ballesteros is hitting .316 with an .858 OPS and 43 extra-base hits across 446 at-bats with Iowa this season.

Overall, Tucker is hitting .270 with 22 home runs, 25 doubles, 73 RBIs and an .854 OPS over 133 games in his first season with the Cubs.

This latest setback with Tucker comes after he started to heat up near the end of August and had a big home run in a win over the Braves at Wrigley Field on Sept. 2 -- just a few innings before the calf tightness popped up. Including his 2-for-3 showing that day, Tucker hit .400 with four homers, four doubles, 10 RBIs and a 1.289 OPS in an 11-game stretch before the injury flared.

In Tucker’s 40 games prior to that hot stretch, he slashed .186/.320/.236 with one homer, four doubles and 11 RBIs in 172 plate appearances. Along the way, he was put on the bench for multiple games and it was revealed that he had sustained a hairline fracture in his right hand in June.

Tucker was asked if he is confident he can return when first eligible.

“Obviously, you’ve got to take it day by day,” he said. “I mean, I was hoping to play today, but that’s not really going to happen. That’s my goal -- do everything I can to try to get back as soon as the amount of time’s up.”