Cubs Place Mike Tauchman on IL, Recall Miles Mastrobuoni

Mike Tauchman pulled up with a limp and immediately called for the trainer following an infield hit in Monday’s loss. He left the game and has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 groin strain that could shelve him for 4-6 weeks. He won’t be replaced by Alexander Canario (left recent game due to injury) or Owen Caissie (not on 40-man), so the Cubs have turned instead to Miles Mastrobuoni as a temporary replacement.

The nature of the injury gives plenty of reason to question just how temporary it will be, though this could be Mastrobuoni’s last shot to show the Cubs something. Given how often they had been using Tauchman, I’d just as soon see Moises Ballesteros called up at the expense of another member of the roster. Maybe we’ll see some of the young guys if things continue to go south, especially after Jed Hoyer reiterated the need for improvements to come from within.

Here’s the press release on today’s transaction…

The Chicago Cubs today recalled INF Miles Mastrobuoni from Triple-A Iowa and placed OF Mike Tauchman on the 10-day IL (left groin strain).

Mastrobuoni, 28, is hitting .125 (5-for-40) with two RBI in 19 games with the Cubs this season. With Iowa, in the month of June, Mastrobuoni is hitting .321 (17-for-53) with one home run and seven RBI. He had a total of ten hits in his last four games.

Tauchman, 33, is hitting .259 (57-for-220) with five HR and 19 RBI in 66 games with the Cubs this season.

The Cubs play San Francisco tonight at 7:05 p.m. CT at Wrigley Field, a game that can be seen on Marquee Sports Network and heard on 670 the Score.