Edward Cabrera hits IL with blister issue

Cubs fans would probably prefer he didn’t. Cabrera, who missed time back in May with a blister, is due to face the Mariners next weekend, but the team has flexibility after the off day Thursday.

Cabrera was ineffective from the jump, allowing six hits and issuing three walks against two strikeouts before being pulled. It’s worth noting that it was his first start after being activated off the injured list because of his hamstring strain, but Cabrera has not been a consistent option before that injury, and he now has a 5.88 ERA on the season. He’ll get a chance to improve those numbers Saturday against the Mariners in Seattle.

The 28-year-old hurler will rejoin the Cubs’ rotation on Sunday afternoon against the Cardinals. Cabrera holds a 5.10 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 65/29 K/BB ratio across 72 1/3 innings in 14 starts with the Cubs this season.

Cabrera hasn’t been strong enough this year to be an easy start against the Cardinals in his first stint off the IL, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he pitched well either. He struck out seven in five scoreless innings in a tune-up on Tuesday at Double-A Knoxville.

No word on Cabrera’s velocity during the 64-pitch outing since this one was in a Double-A ballpark, but the results were certainly impressive. He looked sharp his last time out, tossing four shutout frames for Triple-A Iowa last week. It seems highly likely that he’ll be ready to return to Chicago’s rotation early next week.

Cabrera also didn’t walk anybody and threw 75 percent of his pitches for strikes. He sat 97.4 on his four-seam fastball and consistently overpowered Triple-A hitters. We should note that the strike rate on his four-seamer was just 64 percent in this one, and he threw only five sinkers, so fastball command is still a potential bugaboo. Considering he threw just 55 pitches overall in this one, we’d expect him to make one more rehab start before rejoining the Cubs rotation.

The results are a secondary concern since Cabrera looked sharp from a raw stuff standpoint, hitting 98.8 mph with his fastball during his first rehab outing. The 28-year-old, who is working his way back from a moderate left hamstring strain, struck out three and threw 43 pitches. Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reports on Friday that he’ll probably need two additional tune-up outings to continue building up his pitch count and stamina. That timeline puts Cabrera back in the Cubs’ rotation sometime around mid-August.

Cubs skipper Craig Counsell told reporters Cabrera is likely to require three rehab outings before returning. The 28-year-old starter hit the shelf with a moderate left hamstring strain back on June 24. He should make it back to Chicago at some point in mid-August.

There is no timetable yet for Cabrera to return after undergoing an MRI that revealed a rather significant hamstring strain. The 28-year-old starter hit the injured list earlier on Wednesday after suffering the injury during Tuesday night’s start against the Mets. His extended absence is another hit to Chicago’s perilously-thin rotation depth. It sounds like fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back until some point in August.

Cabrera injured his hamstring when he accidentally did a split while covering first base on Tuesday night. He looked to be in a lot of pain and had to be removed from the game. The Cubs are sending him for imaging on Wednesday to see how long he will be out for.