Lefty Caleb Thielbar the latest Chicago Cubs reliever to land on the IL — and Nicky Lopez is back

The Cubs are back to 10 pitchers from their 40-man roster on the IL.

“Nothing is really that long term, which has to be the positive in this, but injuries add up at some point, right?” Counsell said. “And we’ve lost a lot of bodies, and when you’ve lost that many bodies it gets hard to keep replacing them with the same quality, frankly, so the guys have done a great job. They’ve done a heck of a job. And, frankly, we’ve got some tired guys right now as well, but they’re doing a heck of a job.

“And so we have not sacrificed any quality at this point. In my eyes, these guys have pitched great. They’ve done a heck of a job, and it’s why we’ve been able to put together this nice run. But there’s a limit to what can happen.”

Welcome back

For the third time in 13 months, Lopez has found his way back to the Cubs.

The Cubs acquired Lopez from the Rockies for cash considerations Thursday. The 31-year-old utility infielder had been at Triple A and triggered his upward-mobility clause a few days ago but went unclaimed. Lopez said it feels unbelievable to be back in the big leagues with the Cubs, savoring getting to wear the jersey of his grandfather’s favorite team.

“It always reminds me of him and my family too,” Lopez said. ” … It’s special. And, selfishly, I think I do my role really, really well. Just being able to be available every single day and also just bring energy and be a good clubhouse guy. So the fact that they kind of see that, hey, I guess I’m always that one call away kind of thing. Obviously, hopefully this one sticks and we can just kind of ride it out, but we’ll see where we’re at.”

Lopez, a Naperville native, takes over Kingery’s role on the bench, largely expected to come in as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. The Cubs wanted more reliable defense following Kingery’s two-error game at third base Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s a tough role given the limited at-bats and opportunities, but Lopez’s experience in the role makes the Cubs believe he can handle it.