Phil Maton landed on the injured list with right-knee tendinitis, the second knee-related trip to the shelf this season, as the Cubs continue to juggle mounting pitching injuries that have already included closer Daniel Palencia. With Maton struggling through
MILWAUKEE — Phil Maton’s day started like it has so many recent Cubs days: with an MRI-style answer to a problem that wouldn’t go away.
The right-handed reliever was placed on the injured list Friday with tendinitis in his right knee. It is the second time this season he has had a knee-related stint on the shelf.
Manager Craig Counsell acknowledged the pattern even as he insisted the team was making progress the first time around. “The first time, we gave him some time off,” Counsell said. “I think we made some progress. But we’re kind of getting back into the same territory again. We really need Phil to get going here. I think we’re getting closer, but we also feel like we’re taking some steps back with the health.”.
Counsell said the hope is to use the downtime — including the possibility of the All-Star break — to get Maton as healthy as possible for the second half. “If we can maybe use this time — and possibly the All-Star break — to get his health as good as we can get him for the second half. that’s important. Because we need a good version of Phil Maton.”.
The timing is a headache for a bullpen that already has been taking hits. Maton was signed to a two-year deal as a free agent in the offseason to be part of the team’s late-inning plans, but results have come slowly. He enters this stretch struggling to a 6.08 ERA.
There had been signs of improvement before the latest IL placement. Maton had allowed only two runs in his previous dozen appearances entering the just-completed series against the Mets.
On Monday, Maton said he was still chasing the next step. “We’re getting there,” he told the Sun-Times. “But it’s one of those things where it’s, ‘That’s great, but you’ve got to go out and get the results now and put up some zeros.’ That’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”
In New York, though, the command didn’t fully show up. Maton allowed a run in each of his two outings, and both runs came on solo home runs. He also walked a batter and hit another.
For fans, the injury might offer relief from seeing Maton in high-leverage spots while he’s been battling through trouble. For the Cubs, it’s still another subtraction they can’t afford.
The rotation has been the most affected by injuries, but the bullpen hasn’t been untouched. Maton joins closer Daniel Palencia on the shelf, forcing Counsell into even more difficult late-inning decisions.
The Cubs are also trying to absorb discomfort elsewhere. Outfielder Seiya Suzuki has been forced into designated-hitter duty while he deals with nagging knee discomfort, even as he managed to drive the lineup on Friday.
Suzuki homered off National League Cy Young candidate Jacob Misiorowski in the Cubs’ 6-2 loss to the Brewers, launching a leadoff home run in the fifth inning. The Cubs drew four walks against Misiorowski, but he kept flashing the kind of velocity that has made him a standout this season.
Cubs starter Colin Rea described what he saw on the mound. “The fastball’s incredible; it’s electric,” Rea said. “It’s stuff you’ve never seen before.”
Rea, who yielded one run and five hits in five-plus innings, also watched Misiorowski’s radar-gun numbers stack up, including a first-inning pitch clocked at 105.5 mph to Pete Crow-Armstrong.
While most of the headlines involve who can’t pitch, there was one brighter note in the Cubs’ pitching recovery picture. Right-hander Jameson Taillon, working his way back from a hamstring injury, might return to big-league games before the All-Star break.
Taillon told the Sun-Times on Wednesday, “I’m making really, really exciting progress.”
Counsell said Taillon’s first return, if it happens before the break, would likely be limited to one short start, with longer outings coming after the All-Star break.
The Maton news lands on top of everything else the Cubs have been managing—an ongoing series of injuries that has tested the depth of their pitching staff and the resilience of their late-inning plans. In Milwaukee. Counsell’s message was clear: the team can’t just endure this stretch; it has to preserve enough health to get the bullpen back to what it was supposed to be after the midway point.
Cubs Phil Maton injured list knee tendinitis Craig Counsell Daniel Palencia bullpen injuries Seiya Suzuki Jacob Misiorowski Jameson Taillon All-Star break