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Chicago Cubs’ Matthew Boyd on track for rehab outing, while reliever Phil Maton is coming off a slow weekend
TL;DR
Matthew Boyd is on track for a rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa this week, potentially returning to the Chicago Cubs' roster next week. Meanwhile, Phil Maton is recovering from right knee tendinitis but may not be ready to return by his eligibility date of April 22.
PHILADELPHIA — The Chicago Cubs expected left-hander Matthew Boyd would not miss much time with his biceps strain.
That initial prognosis continues to trend in the right direction. Boyd threw a bullpen Sunday and is on track to make a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa later this week, manager Craig Counsell said Monday before the Cubs’ series opener against the Phillies. If Boyd comes out of his rehab outing feeling good, the Cubs will activate him off the injured list next week to start him when the Phillies come to Wrigley Field.
After opening the season at Iowa, right-hander Javier Assad slid into Boyd’s spot in the rotation and tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings of one-hit ball in his first big-league start of the season April 7 against the Rays. He got the ball Monday night at Citizens Bank Park to kick off the Cubs’ quick three-game road trip.
“Out of spring training we had to tell this to a number of guys and it just changes so fast, but if you have big expectations for your baseball team, it should be a hard team to make, and that was kind of the story with (Assad),” Counsell said. “The player should be disappointed, and it’s hard for the player, but that was the deal. … When you go down to Iowa, how do you handle it? And things change really fast, as anybody in Triple A also knows.”
The Cubs had veteran reliever Phil Maton (right knee tendinitis) take the weekend slow, though he’s continued to throw since landing on the IL last week. It will be tight for Maton to be ready the first day he’s eligible to come off the IL on April 22, Counsell said, but there is hope he will be available close to that date. The best-case scenario for Maton’s timeline is throwing a bullpen early next week.
“We’ll move forward this week and see how it responds,” Counsell said.
The Cubs’ pitching depth at Triple A has taken a hit, too.
Right-handed reliever Gavin Hollowell went on Iowa’s 7-day IL Sunday with a right elbow effusion, which occurs when fluid builds up around the joint. Hollowell, 28, appeared in seven games for the Cubs last year, allowing nine hits and five runs in 9 1/3 innings.
Top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins has been dealing with a sore right arm, which has kept him out since his last start with Iowa on April 4. The organization still hasn’t determined when Wiggins might make his next start, and there is a possibility he will go on the minor-league IL.
“He was just dealing with some soreness, so we pushed him back, nothing alarming,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said of Wiggins to reporters Friday. “Sort of early season stuff, but we kind of pushed his start back as a result. … I’m not going to go into more detail cause it’s just getting pushed back — you don’t want to push guys in April, so we felt like the right thing to do was to push his start a little bit.”
Q&A
When is Matthew Boyd expected to return to the Chicago Cubs?
Matthew Boyd is expected to return to the Chicago Cubs next week if his rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa goes well.
What is the status of Phil Maton’s injury recovery?
Phil Maton is dealing with right knee tendinitis and may not be ready to return by April 22, but there is hope he will be available shortly after.
Who is filling in for Matthew Boyd in the Cubs' rotation?
Javier Assad is currently filling in for Matthew Boyd in the Cubs' rotation and recently pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings in his first big-league start of the season.