A bang-bang play at home plate ultimately became an unfortunate sequence that ended Chicago Cubs outfielder Michael Hermosillo’s season.
Hermosillo was making the most of his opportunities after earning a call-up Aug. 17. But a left forearm strain landed him on the injured list Wednesday and officially ended his season. Hermosillo, 26, won’t need surgery to repair the Grain 3 strain, but it will require roughly four weeks to heal. With the Cubs’ season ending Oct. 3, he doesn’t have enough time to get back on the field this year. The Cubs recalled outfielder Nick Martini from Triple A to fill the roster spot. Martini, a Crystal Lake, Ill. native, appeared in 12 games for the Cubs earlier this year in his first season with the organization.
Hermosillo was surprised when he learned the extent of the injury. He suffered the forearm strain sliding into home on a suicide-squeeze play in the first inning Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hermosillo, who was tagged out, remained in the game and produced the first three-hit game of his career, falling a triple shy of the cycle.
Although felt something in his forearm that day, it wasn’t until he entered Saturday’s game in the sixth when he realized it didn’t feel right. He tried to get through the final four innings of Saturday’s win versus the Pirates. Afterward, Hermosillo experienced swelling and bruising with his forearm.
Once those symptoms emerged, Hermosillo realized it wasn’t prudent to try to play, concerned he risked potentially worsening the injury.
“It’s just super unfortunate and super sad,” Hermosillo said Wednesday. “Like, the opportunity gets cut short, but it is what it is, just bounce back from it. … For the level of the injury and the pain I felt, it didn’t really match up to the same extent. I felt like it was something that I could just like ride through, play through.”
For the Ottawa, Ill., native who grew up a Cubs fan, Hermosillo is planning to soak up everything he can on the bench. He will remain with the team during the homestand before heading to the team’s complex in Arizona once they head on the road next week.
“It’s really unfortunate because he was doing a lot of really, really good things for us,” acting manager Andy Green said. “He seemed to be just fine his routes, taking really good swings against left-handed pitching and a guy that I know (manager David Ross) was eager to see play throughout the remainder of the year.”
Green said Hermosillo likely would have started a few more games in the past couple of days, including Tuesday when the Reds started lefty Wade Miley. Green was impressed by Hermosillo’s willingness to enter Tuesday’s 4-3 loss in the ninth inning as a pinch runner looking to steal a base with two outs, despite nursing the sore forearm.
“Those are good things to see,” Green said. “So we’re eager to for him to get healthy and find out where that goes for him in the future.”
Hermosillo played well in his seven starts, showing his power — two doubles, three home runs and a 1.014 OPS — and defensive prowess. He looked smooth running down balls in the gaps and can play all three outfield positions. He didn’t fare as well off the bench, going 0-for-10 with six strikeouts. Coming from the Los Angeles Angels in the American League, in which pinch hitters and double switches aren’t common, Hermosillo acknowledged it’s a role he’s still getting used.
Hermosillo was unlucky at times this year with injuries. His season was delayed because of a broken hand suffered late in spring training when he was in a car accident and then he briefly missed time with a hamstring strain in July to seemingly delay his big-league promotion.
“I think I showed some things and am very happy with the season I had a Triple A and some of the production that I’ve had here while inconsistent I felt like I still showed some things,” Hermosillo said. “I’ll take it away as a positive. These injuries happen. There’s no reason next year why I wouldn’t be capable playing 150 games. I think that’s definitely in there.”
Where Hermosillo will get his chance to again prove he can be a reliable major-leaguer is unclear. Despite his age, Hermosillo does not have any minor-league options left, which could deter teams wanting 40-man roster flexibility. The Cubs have only three players with guaranteed contracts for 2022 — Kyle Hendricks, Jason Heyward and David Bote — while two notables, Willson Contreras and Ian Happ, are still in arbitration. They could bring back Hermosillo to use in an outfield platoon, perhaps with Heyward or in center field with Rafael Ortega, who is arbitration-eligible for the first time, if the organization wants to allocate their financial resources to other positions.
Hermosillo’s age and skill set make him intriguing as big-league outfield depth.
“It sucks, there’s really no other words around it, and you try to handle that with a degree of empathy and help them understand it sucks, but it’s also part of the story,” Green said. “He’s still got every opportunity to write a great story with his baseball career, so this is what it is for him, and how he handles it and responds to adversity ultimately dictates how long and how good his career is.
“I don’t make roster decisions or anything like that, but I know everybody in this clubhouse has enjoyed him and seen a real viability in him as a roster piece going forward.”
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