Cubs Place Ian Happ on IL with Rib Contusion, DFA Kyle Ryan

After giving him a few days to bounce back, the Cubs have placed Ian Happ with a left rib contusion suffered in a collision with Nico Hoerner last Sunday. Happ went low and caught Hoerner’s knee right in the chest, after which Hoerner hit the ground and injured his arm. Why Happ wasn’t placed on the IL immediately would be a mystery if it didn’t fit all too well with the Cubs’ past decisions.

This isn’t as egregious an oversight as some in the past because they’re able to backdate Happ’s IL stint to May 4, meaning they really only missed one day. Plus, having him up in the on-deck circle Wednesday even when he was never really going to bat may have tricked Dave Roberts into leaving Garrett Cleavinger in the game, so perhaps everything worked out for the best.

With Happ still shaken, it makes sense that Nick Martini has been called up to take the open roster spot.

In one other move of note, the Cubs designated lefty Kyle Ryan for assignment following a rough outing that saw him load the bases on two singles and a walk before leaving without recording an out. The Dodgers went on to take the lead on a sac fly against Ryan Tepera, who managed to stop the scoring from there. Ryan had not allowed a run in two previous appearances, but had allowed two baserunners in each.

Ryan hasn’t been able to get the cutter working since 2019 and he has almost abandoned in this season, but his four-seam has lost a little zip and his two-seam isn’t live enough to work well when it accounts for 60% of his pitches. Even with a lot of grounders, he just doesn’t miss bats. With Justin Steele, Andrew Chafin, and Rex Brothers already in the ‘pen and Brad Wieck waiting in Iowa, the Cubs really don’t need another lefty at this point.

Jason Adam has been recalled from Iowa to fill the spot in the bullpen.