The Cubs have been without since he exited Tuesdays game against the Braves due to a calf i sue, and its unclear when hell be returning to the lineup. Yesterday, manager told reporters (as relayed by on social media) that Tucker didnt really make progre s during Thursdays day off, and would be out of the lineup for another day before adding that today would be a big day in terms of deciding how to proceed. That language seemed to suggest that an injured list stint was in the cards for Tucker if he wasn Mason Montgomery Jersey t healthy enough to return to the lineup today, and reported that outfield prospect was scratched from Triple-A Iowas lineup and brought to Chicago in case a roster move was nece sary. Ultimately, however, Tucker remains day-to-day and out of the lineup without a roster move. Counsell told reporters (as noted by ) today that the club thinks that they have time to let this heal without an IL stint, seemingly indicating that hell be back in the lineup within the next few days. Injured list stints can be backdated a maximum of three days, meaning that if Tucker had gone on the shelf today hed be eligible to return for next weekends series against the Rays. In that time, Cai sie could have joined with fellow top prospect to form a platoon in right field, with in center and in right while utility man and DH serve as backup options in the outfield. Instead, the Cubs have opted to keep Tucker on the roster, with Suzuki and Castro splitting time in right field while fills in at DH on days where Suzuki is in the outfield. A roster move to bolster the outfield mix may yet be nece sary, however. Crow-Armstrong exited todays lo s against the Nationals due to a knee contusion after fouling a ball off of his knee. As he told reporters (including ) after the game, the incident has caused a whole different kind of pain than hes used to. Crow-Armstrong went on to indicate that a decision on his status going forward wont be made clear until tomorrow, but it seems feasible he might be ticketed for either an injured list stint or at least a few days off due to the injury. Having both Tucker and Crow-Armstrong unavailable on the bench would stretch the Cubs rather thin, given that both and Carlos Santana are limited to first base and DH duties only. Those two could handle DH while Suzuki, Castro, and Alcantara mix and match between right and center field, but thats a le s than ideal solution and simply placing one of their two ailing outfielders on the shelf to make room for Cai sie may wind up being preferable. The Cubs have the good fortune of having relatively little to play for over the final few weeks of the regular season. gives the club a 99.8% chance to secure a playoff spot this season, while their odds of surpa sing the surging Brewers in the NL Central sit at a paltry 3.1%. With a Wild Card berth more or le s guaranteed, Chicago could surely afford to place either Tucker or Crow-Armstrong (or, perhaps, both) on the injured list and fill out their roster with prospects at Triple-A already on the 40-man roster like Cai sie and if they think resting their stars could put them in a better position to win in October. Of course, with Crow-Armstrong slumping badly in recent weeks (.178/.225/.243 since August 1) and Tucker having recently broken out of his own slump, its also po sible that they would benefit from getting as many reps as po sible in order to get back on track before the playoffs. Jeffrey Springs Jersey
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