Chicago Cubs: Edward Cabrera’s “cramp” may be an ominous red flag

The Chicago Cubs have taken one injury-related gut punch after another this season—and the barrage of blows doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

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On Tuesday, not long after the Cubs placed closer Daniel Palencia on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation, starter Edward Cabrera had to be pulled from the game in the fifth inning with something the team called a “hand cramp.”

Cabrera was cruising for the first three innings of his outing against the Rockies at Wrigley Field, putting down nine in a row. Then he allowed three runs in a rough fourth inning. In the fifth, he walked the first two batters, struck out the next, but then had to leave the game. The Cubs would go on to lose 5-2.

Cabrera, Counsell comment

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“It was just a cramp that I felt,” Cabrera said via interpreter. “I felt it in the fifth. I threw a changeup and then after that, [catcher Miguel Amaya] asked for another changeup and I was like, ‘Oh, wait. No.’ I was scared, but it was just a cramp.”

As of right now, the Cubs are treating the injury as just that—a cramp—after scans showed no physical issues.

“All things considered, he’s good,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game. “It’s a cramp, right now, as far as we can tell. All the other tests are clean and negative…There’s no other concerns.”

It’s still not known whether the issue will cost Cabrera any starts.

But the larger concern after an ugly Tuesday is the apparent full-on collapse of the team’s pitching staff and the lack of reserves available to help bail them out.

The team actually began the year practically overflowing with pitching depth after acquiring Cabrera in a trade with the Miami Marlins, signing four veteran free agent relievers, and anticipating the return of injured ace Justin Steele some time in the first half of the season. They also stockpiled a number of reserve arms on minor league deals over the offseason for insurance.

But injuries have eaten through the reserves, with Cade Horton’s season-ending elbow surgery, Matthew Boyd’s two stints on the IL, Palencia’s two stints on the IL, Jameson Taillon’s current hamstring injury, and Justin Steele’s recovery setback, among others.

Cabrera, himself, has already had an IL stint of about two weeks due to a blister and he may or may not be headed to a second stay on the IL.

A red flag?

An ominous bad vibe from this latest Cabrera issue, though, centers around the mental makeup of the 28-year-old righty.

Observers have started to notice a correlation between bad outings and the injury issues that seems to pop up afterwards or, at the very least, an inability to right the ship when it starts taking water.

Per Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib:

“If there’s been a trend throughout Cabrera’s 13 starts with the Cubs, it’s what when things go wrong or he realizes he doesn’t have it, he comes a lost cause. That’s clear when you look at his ERA of 5.21, and even more so with his FIP of 5.15.

The impression is that Cabrera is a pitcher that needs to not only feel 100% physically, but also mentally with his pitch-mix. If he doesn’t, the results aren’t going to be there. Now, that’s not a bad thing, as the general goal is for a pitcher to be healthy, but there’s also a hope that they can work through some things. It doesn’t appear Cabrera has that trait, and could be one reason why he never quite becomes the ace the Cubs once thought he could be.”

That’s a big issue that will limit just how much the Cubs can expect from Cabrera throughout his run with the team. It’s an even bigger issue this season when injuries are decimating the staff and there’s zero margin for poor performance.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-edward-cabrera-injury-craig-counsell-red-flag/