Cubs put Kyle Hendricks on the IL with back strain amid struggles, flurry of roster moves

Amid Kyle Hendricks’ struggles to begin the season, the Cubs put the veteran right-hander on the 15-day IL on Tuesday with what they identified as a low back strain.

“We've got to get past an injury first, and then put our heads together on a plan to get him pitching better, essentially,” manager Craig Counsell said before the game Tuesday. “... Obviously we, as he's been going through this, [have been] trying to come up with ideas, and we'll continue to do that.”

Hendricks going to the IL was one of a series of moves Tuesday as the Cubs opened a series against the Astros and a stretch of 16 games in as many days.

The Cubs also put lefty reliever Drew Smyly (right hip impingement) on the 15-day IL and designated first baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper for assignment. They recalled right-hander Hayden Wesneski, lefty Luke Little and first base prospect Matt Mervis.

According to Counsell, Hendricks first reported back pain after his start Sunday against the Marlins, saying he’d felt it as he warmed up in the bullpen before the game, and as his start went on, it “creeped up a little more.”

For the first time this season, Hendricks allowed fewer than five runs in an outing. But the progress was a minor consolation. He still allowed four runs and only pitched four innings, improving his ERA to 12.00 through five starts.

Pitching situation

A common Counsell-ism when dismissing the importance of set roles is that that pitching puzzle comes down to getting “27 outs.”

Wesneski chuckled when he heard that’s how Counsell puts it in interview settings.

“The exact same way,” he said of how Counsell has communicated with him. “... He's won a lot of games, so you can't question it.”

Hendricks landing on the IL brings up another round of rotation questions, less than a week after right-hander Jameson Taillon was activated from the IL and inserted into the mix.

Both Wesneski and Brown, who went to the bullpen when Taillon returned, have experience both starting and relieving.

Brown had a bumpy debut, but since then, going into Tuesday, he’d posted a 1.08 ERA. Wesneski limited the Diamondbacks to one hit in four scoreless innings in his season debut last week.

Smyly had been a multi-inning option out of the bullpen. But Counsell said Smyly had been dealing with his hip issue since the Cubs’ series in Arizona last week, when he pitched in every game because the Cubs went to extra-innings twice.

Counsell was able to avoid Smyly, giving him time to recover, until Sunday, when he allowed two runs in 2 ⅓ innings.

“He thought he was good to pitch Sunday,” Counsell said. “And obviously he pitched Sunday, and I think he was effective, just, he was pitching with it while he was out there.”

Mervis for Cooper

Cooper was hitting a respectable .270 in a bench role that had him playing first base DHing and pinch hitting. But the Cubs activated corner infielder Patrick Wisdom on Thursday, giving the Cubs two right-handed hitters in a similar role.

“Then, we're entering a stretch [where] we're going to face a lot of right-handed pitching,” Counsell said. “So we decided to bring a left-handed bat to be usable.”

This is Mervis’ second major-league stint. Last year, he hit .167 in 90 at-bats.

“How I'm going to get attacked, how pitchers expand based off of previous pitches in the at-bat and the series,” Mervis said of what he learned.

He also made mechanical changes over the offseason, after seeing how rotational his swing was last season.