The Chicago Cubs are in the midst of a season they would like to forget. They stand at 33-48, 15 games below .500. Chicago is also 13 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for 1st place in the National League Central Division. Most likely they will be sellers at the trade deadline because they want to shred salary, giving their top players an opportunity to help a winning ball club. One of their best pitchers could be heading to the injured list, Kyle Hendricks.
Hendricks was supposed to be the veteran leader on the pitching staff and their ace. Unfortunately for him, it’s been a season to forget at this point. Hendricks’ record is 4-6 with an ERA of 4.80. Some of it isn’t his fault because in a few of his starts the Cubs’ offence wasn’t doing much putting more pressure on him to pitch well and he hasn’t.
There have been rumors about trading him at the deadline. Now Hendricks’ value might have taken a hit last night. Hendricks started the game against the Milwaukee Brewers. He lasted 3 innings. The Cubs took him out of the game because he had a sore throwing shoulder. They didn’t want to make it worse by keeping him out there. At the time he gave up 2 hits and 2 runs. His pitch count was getting up there as it reached 69.
The Cubs at this point don’t know how bad the injury is. According to ESPN.com, Hendricks said, “No point in pushing it. It’s not something that’s so bad that it’s going to get out of control, but it’s just not great. Something I’ve definitely got to get checked out to see what it’s all about.”
The best case for Hendricks is that it’s just a sore shoulder which could force him to spend time on the injured list. He could have some rest, letting the shoulder heal. The worst case is it is something serious that could end his season which will impact his trade value.
The Cubs, though, are hoping for the best case. Some teams could be looking to trade for him for the postseason push. For the Cubs, he is their best pitcher but on any other team, he could be a back of a rotation pitcher. He is not an ace anymore but a veteran pitcher to boost a team’s odds of earning a playoff spot. This injury will be the key to figuring out his value on the trade market. A healthy Hendricks might be the answer in helping a team go far in the playoffs.
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