Notes: Wisdom to IL; Hoerner still out

September 29th, 2021

PITTSBURGH -- Patrick Wisdom was summoned from Triple-A Iowa on May 25, when the Cubs were dealing with a rash of injuries. He launched a homer in his first start and kept on slugging -- all the way into the team's record book.

On Wednesday, Wisdom's unexpected standout season for Chicago came to a close. With five games left on the schedule, the Cubs placed him on MLB's injured list without specifying the issue.

"That's the end of his season," Cubs manager David Ross said. "He had a really great season. I'm super proud of the year he was able to put together for us. Filled a lot of holes. Did a really nice job for us."

While the specifics of Wisdom's situation were not provided, Ross did note that his setback was unrelated to the third baseman's recent bout with right wrist soreness. There was also an observable increase in Cubs players, coaches and staff wearing masks Wednesday at PNC Park.

Ross only conceded that the Cubs were "following all MLB protocols and trying to do what we can to make sure everybody's healthy and safe that steps foot on that field."

Ross also discussed the impact made this season by Wisdom, who filled in at both infield corners and as a part-time outfielder. The 30-year-old also launched 28 homers, setting the club's single-season rookie record.

Wisdom led the Majors with a 40.8 percent strikeout rate (minimum of 200 plate appearances), but still managed a 117 OPS+ (indicating he performed 17 percent above average as a hitter). Overall, he slashed .231/.305/.518 in 106 games.

"What I would say stood out to me," Ross said, "is [that] he came here and stuck to who he was. I think he contributed and helped us win a lot of games when he came up. And [when] you lose some of the guys that we lost, it felt like a big blow, and he came up and really filled the gap for a long time."

Hoerner likely done for 2021
Ross would not come right out and declare that shortstop Nico Hoerner (sidelined with general soreness since Saturday) was done for the year, but the manager strongly suggested that was the case on Wednesday.

"The fact that it's lingering a little bit," Ross said, "and that the training staff and the player have a little bit of hesitation, it makes us pull back. I think that's kind of where we're at with him.

"Let's not get to a place where we waste a lot of time in the offseason with trying to gain a couple more at-bats, a couple more innings at shortstop. Let's be able to make sure we are getting him to see the right people, identifying the problems moving forward, so that we can be playing for a championship and in contention next year."

Worth noting
• With both Wisdom and Hoerner sidelined, the Cubs selected the contract of utility man Trent Giambrone from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday. Whenever Giambrone gets into a game it will mark the 2016 25th-round Draft pick's MLB debut.

"He's a guy who's easy to root for," Ross said. "I'm super happy for him. I think that's probably the biggest smile I've had on my face in a while, when he walked in my office today."

• When Giambrone does appear in a game, he will be the 65th player used by the Cubs this season. That not only will extend the team's single-season record, but it will set the National League mark, per team historian Ed Hartig.

The MLB record is 67 players used in one season, which was set by the 2019 Mariners.

Quotable
"Being able to move [Wisdom] around was a luxury for us as guys have kind of gone up and down or gotten hurt. I think he's made the most of his opportunity and he should be really proud going into his offseason." -- Ross