The Chicago Cubs placed Dexter Fowler on the 15-day disabled list Monday. During the bottom half of the first inning, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Fowler hit a ground ball and tweaked his right hamstring while trying to beat it out. Albert Almora Jr. came in to replace him when the Cubs hit the field the following inning.
Chicago Cubs Place Dexter Fowler On DL
Fowler missed his start on Sunday, where Jason Heyward patrolled center field in his absence. He was placed on the disabled list the following day; when Almora Jr. would again play center field. Almora is expected to get the bulk of the center field work as he’s shown he could be ready to stay with the club long term. He is batting .333 in just 12 games, but showing that he can handle pitching in the “Bigs”. He has also made several great defensive plays in his time in Chicago, which is highly expected, as he has always been an outstanding outfielder.
Fowler has been Chicago’s almost every day lead-off hitter, and done an excellent job at it. His batting average has dropped some in the past few weeks, at .290, but he is still ranked 11th in the league. He also has a .398 on base percentage. He is also currently leading all outfielders in All-Star voting.
While it is thought that Fowler wouldn’t miss all 15 days if he stayed off the disabled list, but the Cubs would have to play with only 24 players instead of the usual 25 with Fowler hurting. The Cubs have an 11.5 game lead over the second place St. Louis Cardinals in the division. So, with that said, there is no urgency to rush getting their lead-off hitter back. In the meantime, Ben Zobrist should move up to the lead-off spot, with players like Chris Coghlan and Jason Heyward making a start or two in the spot.
Cubs Call Up Carl Edwards Jr.
With Fowler’s DL stint, the Cubs have called up right-handed pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. This is Edwards’ second stint with the team. In 2015 with the Cubs, he pitched in five games. During his five games, he pitched in 4.2 innings while giving up 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. In AAA this year he’s thrown in 24 games, all of which came from the bullpen. He has a 4.26 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has kept batters to just a .185 batting average and has struck out almost a third of the batters he’s faced.
Main Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images.
