Cub Tracks’ unfit to be tied

Welcome to today’s edition of Cub Tracks news and notes™, featuring material from current beat writers, bloggers, and the occasional in-house habitué, moonlighting. These pieces center around #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball. We try to distill the zeitgeist into easily digestible chunks, which we then marinate in Malört for that true Chicago flavor.

There are worse things than a muggy Saturday in St Louis. If you have some time, I’ll think of something. The Cubs and Cardinals played baseball there Saturday. Miles Mikolas bored the Cubs’ bats to death but a Rafael Ortega home run made things interesting for an inning.

Adrian Sampson was again effective and has probably moved into the 4 or 5 spot in the rotation (so went David Ross’ postgame comments). Unfortunately Mark Leiter Jr. had a regular day and Rowan Wick continued his inconsistent ways.

The two teams will vie once again today, with the meatloaf at stake.

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RHP Marcus Stroman (right shoulder inflammation)

Expected return: July

Stroman logged around 40 pitches in a “normal bullpen” June 25, per pitching coach Tommy Hottovy. The right-hander tested his full repertoire. Hottovy said the next step could be facing live batters in the upcoming week, but the Cubs will monitor Stroman’s progress in the coming days to see if another bullpen session is the preferred route.

Stroman said last week that his shoulder issues flared up in the wake of his five-inning start May 19, following nearly two weeks on the IL due to COVID. He posted a 5.57 ERA in four starts (21 innings) before being placed back on the IL on June 10 (retroactive to June 7). — Jordan Bastian.

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): A red-letter day in Chicago Cubs history — Anthony Rizzo’s call-up — reminds us of promises not kept. “The Cubs don’t mind repeating the line as long as fans keep buying tickets.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Adrian Sampson ‘rewarded’ for bounce back after being DFA’d twice. “Sampson held the Cardinals to two runs through five innings on Saturday, as the Cubs lost 5-3.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): What’s next for the Cubs’ top pitching prospect? “I’m really excited about what we saw in glimpses,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said.
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): How Yan Gomes played a crucial role in Kyle Hendricks’ gem in St. Louis. “I really just committed to him and his game plan and he was really good feeling what they were doing tonight,” Hendricks told reporters in St. Louis. “It was huge.
• Eric Rubin (Cubbies Crib*): Now is the time for the Cubs to trade Willson Contreras. “If the Cubs really want Contreras to stay, which they should, then they follow the same path taken by the Yankees back in 2016.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Why David Bote is happy to be back with Cubs and what he learned during injury. “It’s been a long road back, but I’m really excited to be back and super grateful for the opportunity again.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Ian Happ is ‘numb’ to trade rumors, hopeful about future with Cubs as deadline approaches. “Reconstructing one of the worst pitching staffs in the game and building a credible lineup without Happ and Contreras — in one offseason — seem like reaches for Hoyer’s front office.” Maddie Lee has more Happ. Gordon Wittenmyer has even more Happ.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs’ Suzuki close to minor-league rehab assignment. “Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki’s progress at the club’s rehab facility in Arizona is “moving pretty fast,” manager David Ross said.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs Coach Chris Young upbeat after ‘scary’ episode in Pittsburgh. “... he was cleared to rejoin the team as it traveled to St. Louis and was in good spirits before Friday’s series opener against the Cardinals.”

Food for Thought:

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