PITTSBURGH -- Benjamin Zobrist's left wrist simply wasn't healing as quickly as he had hoped, so the Cubs placed the versatile player on the disabled list Friday, retroactive to Tuesday.
"I tried to swing right-handed and it's still not good," he said Friday. "At this point, you don't want to have the team down a player so we have to get somebody else here until it's totally healed. That gives me seven more days to see how it really heals."
Zobrist, whose left wrist has bothered him since the Cubs' series in Los Angeles in late May, has inflammation and was expected to get an MRI on Friday.
"It's not getting better as fast as it should be," Zobrist said. "If it's going to take another three, four days from now for it to feel great, then we're getting close to 10 days anyways. You might as well give the team the other option off the bench."

A switch-hitter, Zobrist said his wrist hurt him more when he batted from the right side, but said Friday it also hurt when he hit left-handed.
"It probably needs total rest," Zobrist said.
"I thought we were trending right," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Let's just shut it down, calm it down, so he can come back and play like he can."
The Cubs recalled infielder Thomas La Stella from Triple-A Iowa to take Zobrist's spot on the roster.
• A second MRI on Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks' right hand revealed he has inflammation, and there is no timetable for his return.
"It's just sore and we don't have a finish line in mind yet," Maddon said. "It's an inflammation kind of thing and it's sore and it's not going away. We can't push him on it right now and we don't want to push him on it right now. ... It's just an awkward injury."

With Hendricks on the DL and Brett Anderson still rehabbing, the Cubs have dipped into their starting pitching depth twice. They can't really afford another starter to get hurt.
"The next thing that would go awry would be a lot more difficult," Maddon said.
• Kristopher Bryant did not start Friday to take advantage of Thursday's off-day and get a two-day breather. Maddon had planned the break for Bryant, saying the reigning National League Most Valuable Player looked a little tired on Wednesday in New York against the Mets. La Stella got the start at the hot corner.
• Anthony Rizzo batted leadoff for the third straight game Friday. How long will Maddon keep the first baseman at the top of the order?
"I don't know," Maddon said. "He's come up in vital spots [in the game]. ... If you don't put him there, he doesn't get pitched to at all. Let him go up there, let him make his impact, let's see how it plays out, get some of these other guys frisky. For right now, he's loving it."
• Maddon spent Thursday in his hometown of Hazleton, Pa., to dedicate a playground there, part of his Hazleton Integration Project. Someone also donated some land to create a nature trail, and the Lafayette College football team was helping to clear the trails.
Maddon also had a chance to see his mom, Beanie.
"Beanie looks great," Maddon said. "She's doing well."