Chicago Cubs Star Scratched From Starting Lineup With Hamstring Injury

The Chicago Cubs have some big injury news as their starting second baseman was a surprise scratch from the starting lineup.

Dylan Sanders | May 14, 2024

May 11, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner (2) circles the / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs got some unfortunate news on Tuesday night as they had to scratch starting shortstop Nico Hoerner form the starting lineup in the matchup with the Atlanta Braves.

Hoerner went hitless but drew a walk in four plate appearances last night. He made it through the game without being substituted, but is now out due to left hamstring tightness per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune.

There won't be any news of the severity of the injury until the media gets a chance to speak with the team after the game.

The 27-year-old is in a bit of a down season both offensively and defensively, but is still an important piece to the team.

His OPS is actually a bit higher than it has been over the past few seasons, thanks to a much higher walk rate, but his batting average is a bit behind pace.

The Stanford alum is currently slashing .269/.361/.391 in 41 games this season.

In the field, Hoerner has already committed five errors this season. His high for an entire season before 2024 was seven last season.

Back in 2022, he was one of the best defensive players in MLB, but has taken a back seat since then.

He had 13 OAA last year, nine the year before that. So far in 2024, he's all the way down to -3.

Starting in Hoerner's place will be utlity man Miles Mastrobuoni.

Mastrobuoni had a three-hit game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday during the highly anticipated Paul Skenes debut, but that is the only game in which he has gotten a hit this season.

The 28-year-old is slashing .225/.296/.278 for his career. If this is a serious injury, the Cubs will need to find a different answer in the infield. For the short term, it'll probably be fine.

Published May 14, 2024

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders