Nico Hoerner leaves Cubs game with leg injury
Nico Hoerner leaves Cubs game with injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Chicago Cubs could potentially be without their star second baseman for a spell after Nico Hoerner was removed from Monday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals due to injury.
Hoerner was running from first base after a double by Dansby Swanson in the bottom of the sixth inning when he pulled up, holding his left hamstring as he approached third base.
After a consultation with Cubs manager David Ross and the training staff, Hoerner was removed from the game and was replaced by Nick Madrigal.
The Cubs provided an update later in the contest, saying that Hoerner was dealing with left hamstring tightness and that he will be reevaluated.
Coming into Monday’s game, Hoerner was batting .309 on the season with a .354 on-base percentage. He has two home, 19 RBI’s and 12 stolen bases on the campaign.
If he is forced to miss time, the Cubs do have a few options at different levels in their system. They could potentially have Madrigal move back to second base, his position when he first broke into the big leagues.
They could also have Christopher Morel, who was called up prior to Monday’s game, play games at second base.
The Cubs could also bring back Miles Mastrobuoni or call up David Bote, who’s off to a strong offensive start for the Iowa Cubs this season.
Regardless of the decision, the injury for Hoerner comes at a challenging time, as the Cubs will have two more games against the Cardinals before heading out on a three-city road trip that gets underway in Minnesota against the Twins on Friday night.
