Cubs rookie Riley Martin hit the injured list with what was originally described as elbow inflammation this weekend, but the left-hander has now been diagnosed with a flexor strain, per Marquee’s Taylor McGregor. He’s expected to miss around eight weeks, which would sideline the 28-year-old southpaw into late June.
It’s a tough development for both Martin and the Cubs. The 2021 sixth-rounder was added to the 40-man roster back in November in order to shield him from the Rule 5 Draft after he’d posted a 2.69 ERA and 30.7% strikeout rate in 63 2/3 Triple-A frames last year. He was recalled to the majors for his big league debut early this month. Martin’s first few weeks in MLB couldn’t have gone much better. He appeared in eight games and totaled 8 1/3 innings, holding opponents to a pair of runs (2.16 ERA) on five hits and two walks with 10 punchouts.
Martin’s flexor strain is the latest in a mounting number of bullpen injuries for a Cubs team that has also lost Porter Hodge (UCL surgery), Daniel Palencia (lat strain), Hunter Harvey (triceps inflammation) and Caleb Thielbar (hamstring strain) in recent weeks. Hodge’s season is over. Palencia’s lat strain isn’t on his throwing side, so he should be able to return within the next couple weeks. There’s been no indication that Thielbar or Harvey will require lengthy absences.
Even if each of Palencia, Thielbar and Harvey is back at some point in mid-May, it’s a worrisome number of injuries. The Cubs also lost Phil Maton for a couple weeks due to tendinitis in his knee. He returned last night but was tagged for two runs in an inning of work — his fourth straight appearance in which he was charged with two earned runs. Maton’s ERA on the young season sits at a sky-high 14.40, so it seems clear he hasn’t been functioning at 100% to this point.
In addition to both Thielbar and Martin being sidelined, the Cubs are also without 26-year-old lefty Jordan Wicks, who’s on the IL due to elbow inflammation. Left-handed relief is an area of some depth for the Cubs, and veteran Hoby Milner (who signed a one-year deal in free agency this winter) is still healthy, giving skipper Craig Counsell at least one experienced option. Ryan Rolison is currently on the roster as a second lefty, but the former Rockies prospect was a January waiver claim who’s yet to solidify himself in the majors. He’s pitched four scoreless innings so far as a Cub but has fanned only one of the 13 batters he’s faced.
Martin’s timetable makes him a candidate to move to the 60-day injured list the next time the Cubs need a roster spot. It’s feasible he’ll be able to return just inside a 60-day window, but that likely won’t dissuade the Cubs from making the move, given a difference of just a few days between his best-case scenario and that 60-day term. In the meantime, he’ll accrue major league service time and major league salary.
