The Cubs will be without Mike Tauchman for a few weeks. Chicago placed their right fielder on the 10-day injured list Tuesday evening with a strained left groin, per a team announcement. Miles Mastrobuoni is up from Triple-A Iowa to take the active roster spot.
Manager Craig Counsell told the Chicago beat that Tuchman’s strain is of the Grade 2 variety, via the Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro. Counsell suggested it’ll be around a month before the injury is fully healed. That could take Tuchman’s rehab close to the July 30 trade deadline.
The lefty-swinging Tauchman has emerged as a surprising contributor for Chicago. He hit .252/.363/.377 over a career-high 401 plate appearances a season ago. As MLBTR’s Nick Deeds explored last month, the lefty-hitting Tauchman has hit his way to regular playing time in the Wrigley Field outfield. Tauchman carried a .257/.375/.407 line at the time of Nick’s post. His production has tailed off a bit since then, as he ran a .263/.330/.338 slash in 88 plate appearances over the past month. That hadn’t changed his standing, as Counsell has continued to pencil him in atop the lineup.
That’ll be on hold after Tauchman came up limping beating out an infield single. Nico Hoerner jumps to the top of the order for Tuesday night’s game. The Cubs moved Cody Bellinger from center to right field with Pete Crow-Armstrong taking over in center. Seiya Suzuki is serving as the designated hitter. Crow-Armstrong will probably see the biggest uptick in playing time with Tauchman on the shelf.
The Cubs enter Tuesday night’s game with a 34-39 record. Chicago washed away a strong April with a 16-27 showing going back to May 1. The Cubs have dropped into 13th place in the National League, but everyone in the NL besides the Marlins and Rockies is still in the playoff picture. Chicago is only two games back of the Giants, who currently hold the last wild-card spot. They’re among 8-10 teams in the Senior Circuit whose approaches to the trade deadline will be determined by how well they play over the next six weeks.
