Cubs place Shaw (left hand), Roberts (right forearm) on IL

CHICAGO -- After fouling off a pitch from Brewers lefty Aaron Ashby in the seventh inning on Sunday afternoon, Matt Shaw made a fist before shaking his left hand. Later in the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell pinch-hit for Shaw as discomfort in his hand and wrist persisted.

Counsell initially deemed it a “precautionary” move late in Sunday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Brewers, but the soreness lingered into Monday for Shaw and forced the Cubs to make a decision. Prior to the opener of a three-game set with the Padres, Shaw was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hand sprain.

“We’re pretty optimistic here,” Counsell said. “We’ve ruled out everything else that could’ve been longer-term, in terms of [being] worrisome. He’s got some pretty good swelling in there right now and he’s got to get rid of that.”

Counsell added that there is a chance that the 24-year-old Shaw can resume swinging a bat by the weekend, if the inflammation and swelling reduce in the coming days. If the super utility man only needs the minimum stay on the IL, he would be eligible to return on July 9 in Baltimore (a few days before the All-Star break).

Over his last 12 games, Shaw hit at a .273 clip with one homer, two triples, six walks, eight RBIs and an .899 OPS, while mostly manning right field. He has helped in the outfield while Seiya Suzuki has continued to rest his right knee (tweaked on June 13 in San Francisco) as the primary designated hitter.

With Shaw out for the time being, the Cubs recalled outfielder Kevin Alcántara from Triple-A Iowa to help off the bench. Counsell said Michael Conforto (starting in right field on Monday night) would see more time in the lineup with Shaw sidelined, especially against right-handed pitchers.

“Matt was doing a good job,” Counsell said. “It now falls on somebody else to pick up the slack. Michael Conforto’s going to get more regular at-bats -- it’s kind of the logical thing here. And then against lefties, we’re going to have to figure out how we want to move guys around and things like that.”

Roberts shelved with forearm issue

The Cubs have dealt with a constant wave of injury setbacks to their pitching staff recently and that continued on Monday.

Prior to the game against San Diego, Counsell announced that right-hander Ethan Roberts was placed on the 15-day IL due to inflammation in his right forearm. The 28-year-old Roberts has a 4.21 ERA in 23 games this season, but has logged an 8.38 ERA in 11 outings in June and had worked in three of the last four games leading up to the IL stint.

“Ethan’s been one of the guys that has pitched a lot,” Counsell said. “I don’t think we have anything serious here, but we’ve got to give him a break, basically. But, he’s got some symptoms.”