Chicago Cubs Health Check: Who's Hurt, Who's Healthy, and Who's Coming Back?

The Cubs have enjoyed pretty good health this year, all things considered. The wheels have seemed to come off at just the wrong time, though. Let's round up the wounded soldiers.

The 60-Day Injured List Crew
60 Days and Counting
These guys aren’t going to return this season, but there remains hope that they can stick around and help the Cubs in the years to come. 

Ben Leeper: Not technically on the 60-day list since he isn’t on the 40-man roster, but Leeper is out for the year following Tommy John surgery in the spring. He’s a talented arm, but his path to the majors is now cloudy at best. 

Codi Heuer: The expectation was he’d return late this year after an unusually complicated Tommy John surgery, but then he had some setbacks in rehab before ultimately suffering a fractured right elbow in June, prematurely ending his comeback. Any hopes that he would be a one-for-one replacement with Craig Kimbrel as the closer have been dashed, but hopefully Heuer can return to Chicago at some point as an impact reliever. 

Ethan Roberts: Another Tommy John surgery patient, Roberts has been throwing live batting practice over the last month and could get into some game action down the stretch. That won’t be in Chicago, but the surprise reliever on the 2022 Opening Day roster should be back with the Cubs sometime next year. 

Our Time is Up
These guys are currently on the 60-Day IL, though they have a chance to return before season’s end. 

Brandon Hughes: The surprisingly dominant lefty reliever from last year is back at Triple-A Iowa following a clean-up procedure on his knee, though he’s struggling badly with an 8.53 ERA in 6 ⅓ innings since his return. Unless he rights the ship immediately, he probably won’t be in Chicago this year, though the Cubs’ recent bullpen injuries and struggles could compel a sooner-than-expected return. 

Nick Burdi: Burdi rejoined Iowa along with Hughes at the beginning of September, as his recovery from a burst appendix (ouch) was halted by ulnar nerve irritation in August. He’s pitching much better than his lefty counterpart, with a 1.59 ERA in 5 ⅔ innings, and the righty with a 100-mph fastball could be on the mound at Wrigley again in short order. 

The 10/15-Day Injured List Crew
These players are currently on the 10- or 15-Day IL, depending on if they are a position player or pitcher, respectively. However, their importance to the team and less-serious nature of their injuries almost guarantee their return to the Cubs before the season is over. 

Jeimer Candelario: The big-ticket trade deadline acquisition this year, Candelario struggled for all of August before the Cubs finally gave him a chance to rest, citing a lower back strain as his purpose for heading to the injured list. There haven’t been many updates on his status or condition since then, and he was only doing light work as of the weekend, though the Cubs were hoping that the switch-hitting corner infielder would only require a near-minimum stay on the IL. 

Michael Fulmer: Fulmer was just on the injured list for a right forearm strain, and apparently, the Cubs brought him back too quickly, as the team placed him back there with the same issue on Saturday. At this point, you’d hope it’s just another minimum stay, but with Fulmer looking to cash in during free agency in a couple months, it’s possible he plays it a bit more cautious this time around. It’s hard to say what his timeline looks like regardless, as he clearly wasn’t fully back the first time the Cubs activated him. 

Adbert Alzolay: The Cubs newly-minted closer landed on the IL on September 10 with a right forearm strain, following some unusually difficult outings and blown saves. The good news, though, is that he’s already back to playing catch as of Saturday, so hopefully the ninth inning for the Cubs will become less tumultuous in the near future. 

Day-to-Day Players

This list is for players not currently on the Injured List, but who are being held out of game action for a few days while dealing with nagging injuries. 

Nick Madrigal: The (shockingly) slick-fielding third baseman was held out of Sunday night’s game against the Diamondbacks with a hamstring issue, a notoriously fickle injury for athletes requiring quick-twitch movements. However, the report from manager David Ross is that Madrigal is mostly just dealing with cramping and subsequent tightness, so it seems Madrigal and the Cubs may have dodged the worst case scenario. 

The Cubs are tired. They're banged-up. They're limping toward the finish line, and over the last week and a half, they've been passed by a couple of teams who look fresher and more steady on their feet. The race isn't over, though, and even slight reinforcements from one or two of these guys could still rescue a Wild Card spot.