Cubs Place Alec Mills on IL with Low Back Strain, Recall Michael Rucker

The Cubs today have placed Alec Mills on the 15-day injured list with a low back strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Michael Rucker from Triple-A Iowa. Mills was in obvious pain when he left Saturday’s start after just seven pitches with one strikeout and one hit allowed.

He began the season on the 10-day IL with a low back strain and was transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 19 with a right quadriceps strain. He was activated from the IL on June 7 and is 0-1 with a 9.68 ERA in seven games (two starts) for the Cubs this season.

Rucker, 28, begins his third stint with the Cubs this season and has gone 0-1 with a 5.49 ERA in 12 relief appearances. He has walked eight and struck out 21, good for 9.61 K/9, and has tossed a career-high 3.0 innings. The Cubs have to keep patching over the rotation and they’ll probably need some length from the pen as well now that Mark Leiter Jr. had to give them 5.1 innings in relief of Mills.

We can talk all we want about how this roster wasn’t really built to win, but the injuries have decimated what might otherwise have been an okay squad.