The Chicago Cubs are making a dramatic move as they search for a few strong arms to lead their pitching rotation. The Windy City franchise is going to give the ball to Kyle Hendricks for a game against the San Francisco Giants Wednesday, per ESPN. Hendricks has been working as a reliever in recent weeks, but will now move back to starter.
Cubs management says the move is in response to a shortage of healthy arms in the pitching rotation.
“We're down pitchers right now,” team manager Craig Counsell said, per ESPN. “In a lot of ways, Kyle continues to impress you even though he's had a tough go of it so far. He's worried about the things he can control.”
Hendricks and the Cubs this season
Chicago is 34-38 on the season, and one of the more disappointing teams in the National League. The team's injury issues have certainly played a role in why the club has a losing record. Chicago is down several arms, including hurlers Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks. Those two starters went down in the last week alone.
The Cubs are in turn giving Hendricks another shot at starting, which hopefully inspires the pitcher. Hendricks hasn't had a very good season on the mound. He has an 8.20 ERA as of time of writing Sunday, but his mark as a starter was even worse. The hurler had an ERA over 12 through his first seven starts of the year, per ESPN. In one disastrous performance, Hendricks gave up seven earned runs on five hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks in April. He had an even worse outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates in May, giving up 11 hits and eight runs in just a little more than four innings.
In his role as a reliever, Hendricks has been able to get some control back. The pitcher hasn't given up a single run in his last three appearances. His ERA is going down, and he is also striking out more batters. In a June 2 appearance against the Cincinnati Reds, Hendricks struck out three batters in three innings of work. That certainly isn't going to light the world on fire, but every little thing can certainly build confidence for a pitcher.
Cubs fans are certainly hoping for good things for Hendricks. He has been with the team longer than just about anyone on the roster. The pitcher has thrown for Chicago since the 2014 season. He was a member of the 2016 World Series championship team, and was the ERA leader in Major League Baseball that season. In his career he has 93 victories, and has appeared in more than 250 games for the franchise.
The Cubs lost to the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. The team starts their series with the Giants on Monday. Chicago has now lost seven of their last 10 games.
