A few injury updates for the Chicago Cubs …
Although he was expected to start hitting again this weekend after the oblique injury, Matt Shaw and the Cubs pushed things back:
Matt Shaw says he's "pretty much cleared for everything, just maybe at a lower level, 70 percent" after feeling some left oblique tightness Monday.He was going to start hitting and throwing yesterday but Cubs pushed that back to tomorrow to start the new week. #Cubs @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/UM8ITbzG5c
— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) February 16, 2025“They’re being very careful, kind of a slower buildup,” Shaw said. “Every day, I feel good. So I come in and do my running and defense and everything. It’s one of those things where it really wasn’t at the worst time. Maybe it’s good just to take a step back with everything that’s going on and take a breath here. So we’ll be rocking and rolling pretty soon.”
The way Craig Counsell put it this weekend on Shaw (Marquee): “He’s not [a] full participant, but he’s kind of gradually increasing activity. So, yeah, feeling good, but going slow with the gradual increase in activity …. I think we’re gonna be cautious. We’re getting a number of good days back-to-back right now. [If] every day is a good day, the next day we’ll increase activity a little bit.”
Meanwhile, the Cubs’ other oblique injury lives in Javier Assad, who isn’t even sure how it happened. He felt fine after a bullpen session, and then that night started to feel a little something in his side (Sun-Times). He’s never had an oblique injury before, and isn’t going to start throwing again until the discomfort is gone. The hope is that it’ll abate soon, but like I said when the MRI came back showing a mild strain, we should be prepared for the likelihood that Assad is now behind the 8-ball in ramping up for the season relative to the other starting pitchers.
If Assad starts feeling great soon and can build up like normal for that first week of the regular season (non-Japan edition), then it’s all good. But even if the Cubs have to hold him back for a week or two to make sure he’s good to go, that wouldn’t be the worst outcome in the world given that there are at least three other guys vying for the fifth starter spot right now (Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Jordan Wicks), and given that the Cubs might want to go with something of a modified six-man starter group early in the year anyway.
Lastly, a note on pitching prospect Brandon Birdsell, who’d otherwise fall into the group of starting pitchers behind those I just mentioned (together with guys like Cade Horton, Caleb Kilian, and Connor Noland). His injury, it turns out, is a lat strain, and that’ll have him shut down for three to four weeks while it heals. That means his ramp up for the season will be delayed, and, in turn, his season debut at Iowa is probably going to come some time after the opening week of the season. With all the Cubs’ depth, and with Birdsell’s upside being that of a quality big league starter, there’s no reason to rush this one.
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