Boyd's comeback from knee surgery delayed by shoulder soreness

DENVER – In the wake of Jameson Taillon landing on the injured list on Tuesday, Cubs manager Craig Counsell at least pointed to Matthew Boyd’s pending return as a piece of good news for a rotation that has been constantly hit with setbacks this season.

The plans surrounding Boyd’s comeback have now changed in the last 24 hours.

Before Wednesday’s game against the Rockies, Counsell noted that Boyd experienced soreness in his left shoulder while throwing a bullpen session a day earlier. The veteran lefty’s planned activation from the 15-day IL this weekend to start against the Giants has now been called off.

“We’re going to lose some days, for sure,” Counsell said. “We hope we don’t lose many.”

The Cubs are currently without Taillon (15-day IL with a left hamstring strain) until after the All-Star break. Lefty Justin Steele (left flexor strain) has an unclear timetable for return and righty Cade Horton (right elbow surgery) is done for the season. Edward Cabrera (blister on right middle finger) recently returned from the IL.

Boyd, who is making a comeback from May 7 surgery on his left knee, said he felt fine during his 80-pitch rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Saturday – his second outing for the I-Cubs while on the IL. While warming up for his bullpen on Tuesday in Denver, the lefty felt soreness in his throwing arm and believes it is related to his recent increase in workload and intensity.

“By your bullpen day, you know how you’re supposed to feel,” Counsell said. “And he just didn’t feel normal. We think this is minor. That’s the hope.”

Boyd plans on testing things out with catch on Thursday and is optimistic that he can get back on a mound this weekend in San Francisco.

“It’s just something you take note of and just a few extra days,” Boyd said. “It’s more just knocking it out and paying attention to it. The last thing you want to do, especially with coming back from the knee and the mechanical adjustments that are coming from that, is to push through something. It’s just trying to be proactive and smart.”

While the Cubs have not announced their probable pitchers for the upcoming three-game series against the Giants, Counsell said righty Javier Assad would likely be “involved” in the pitching plans. Assad came out of the bullpen after Taillon’s injury forced an early exit on Sunday and logged 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Giants at Wrigley Field.

On the season, the 28-year-old Assad has a 4.73 ERA in nine games (three starts), but Counsell was quick to note that 15 of the 17 earned runs the righty has given up came in two games (6 2/3 out of his 32 1/3 innings overall).

“The rest has been pretty darned good,” Counsell said. “I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I think Javy’s proven he can definitely get outs in this league.”

Boyd praised Assad for his performance in that emergency appearance on Sunday.

“It’s an extremely hard situation to come into a game on that moment’s notice when someone goes down,” Boyd said. “He has a professional mindset. He’s mature beyond his years. And we’ve said it all the time, it’s going to take all of us to get to where we want to go. It was awesome to see him go do that. He’s a talented pitcher.”

Boyd last pitched for the Cubs on May 3, and the rotation as a whole entered Wednesday with a 6.08 ERA dating back to May 4. Only the Rockies (7.03) had a higher ERA in that same span. The injuries have tested the depth, and the staff has seen some tough regression from a few arms.

“It’s not ideal. You don’t want to go through it,” Boyd said. “But it doesn’t matter as much what happens; what’s important is how you respond. The only thing that we have control over is our response. I know what that response is for me. It’s continuing to do everything I can, brick by brick, to get back out there on that mound.

“And for each of us, it’s different. For Javy, it was taking the ball in that situation and now doing it again. Every game is equally important. It’s the hand that’s been dealt, so we have to adjust and we have to keep going.”