CHICAGO -- Rather than push Kyle Tucker back into the lineup at the first sign of improvement, Cubs manager Craig Counsell has opted to give the star outfielder a little more time to continue to rest and heal from the left calf issue that flared earlier this week.
Tucker was out of the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Nationals, but Counsell expressed optimism that the right fielder could return at some point this weekend. The manager also wanted to give Tucker Friday’s pregame period to do some running to gauge his potential availability off the bench.
“He’s improved, for sure. And I think I’d like to give him the day to just move around,” Counsell said Friday morning. “Really, we want to get him symptom-free. Wednesday was a good day, in terms of how he came into the park and felt on Wednesday. He was very encouraged and we were encouraged that he felt if he had to absolutely play on Wednesday he probably could have.”
Tucker was removed from Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Braves in the top of the seventh inning after his calf tightness worsened to a point of concern. The outfielder said following that game that he had been dealing with the issue for a few days and had informed the team out of caution. Counsell then gave Tucker Wednesday’s game off, allowing for an extended rest period with Thursday being a team off-day.
Prior to leaving Tuesday’s game, Tucker went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, giving him a .400/.489/.800 slash line with four homers, four doubles and 11 RBIs over his past 11 games. That strong showing came after a 40-game stretch during which he hit .186/.320/.236 with just one home run in 172 plate appearances.
Counsell gave Tucker a two-day mental reset from Aug. 19-20, and it was revealed then that the outfielder had played through a (since healed) hairline fracture in his right hand sustained in early June. The recent uptick in production has given Tucker an .853 OPS with 22 homers, 51 extra-base hits, 73 RBIs, as many walks (86) as strikeouts (86) and 25 stolen bases in 133 games overall.
Asked if Tucker could face a stint on the IL if the calf issue persists into the weekend, Counsell replied: “There’s not a reason to do it today.”
Counsell was also asked if the Cubs’ current position in the standings -- leading the National League Wild Card race with 99.8% odds of reaching the postseason, per Fangraphs -- has played into the team being patient with Tucker’s setback or into recent decision-making such as placing pitcher Jameson Taillon (left groin strain) on the IL.
“It factors in,” Counsell said. “I don’t know if it factored into the Taillon decision. But I think there’s a small factor in it. I think, at this point where we’re at, I don’t think we’re at that point yet. I think we always want to think we’re at that point before we are. And so, we’ve just got to focus on today and winning a baseball game.”
Counsell did not rule out having Tucker return in the designated hitter role to reduce the amount of risk involved with his type of injury.
“We’ve got to take the information in front of us and make the best decision we can,” Counsell said. “Today, we thought the best thing for him is to spend more time kind of in a controlled environment and not put him in a game, which is a little less controlled. We can do that by DHing him -- less exposure with a DH than playing in the field. We’ll take all those things into consideration.”