Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Saturday that relief pitcher Luke Little has a left lat strain, an injury that he said is likely season-ending.
Multiple outlets reported the news, with some reporting the injury was indeed season-ending. Little was supposed to get a second opinion on the injury on Friday.
If it is season-ending, then Little would likely move from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL soon.
It would also be a significant blow to the bullpen and a beat-up pitching staff.
Before the injury the left-hander had thrown in 30 games and was 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA. He struck out 28 and walked 18 in 26 innings and he also had three holds.
Little last pitched on July 12 against St. Louis, but he didn’t record an out. He left the game after throwing four pitches with what the Cubs called at the time a left shoulder strain.
He made the Opening Day roster but was sent back and forth from Chicago to Triple-A Iowa throughout the first three months of the season, with his last recall from Iowa coming on June 23.
The 23-year-old debuted with the Cubs last year, as he made seven relief appearances but didn’t factor in a decision. He struck out 12 and walked four in 6.2 innings.
The Cubs drafted him in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of San Jacinto JC in Texas. He made his professional debut the next year in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League and worked his way up to a breakthrough season last year.
In 36 combined games with High-A South Bend, Double-A Tennessee and Iowa he went 5-2 with a 2.12 ERA as he struck out 105 in 63.2 innings, a performance that earned him his call-up with the Cubs last Sept. 6.
At 6-foot-8, he tied Chris Volstad as the tallest starting pitcher in Cubs history.
The Cubs have other pitchers on the injured list. Ben Brown is on the 15-day IL with a neck strain and he was supposed to throw off a mound on Friday in Arizona. The Cubs are hopeful the rookie right-hander could re-join them later this month.
Right-hander Keegan Thompson is also on the 15-day IL with a right rib fracture.
Left-hander Jordan Wicks, right-hander Julian Merryweather, right-hander Caleb Kilian, right-hander Adbert Alzolay, right-hander Yency Almonte and right-hander Colten Brewer are on the 60-day IL.
