The Cubs announced to reporters that shortstop Nico Hoerner has been placed on the injured list with a right ankle sprain retroactive to May 12, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Swapping places with Hoerner is shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who will come off the injured list.
It’s surely a frustrating series of events for Hoerner and Cubs fans. Any injury is frustrating, of course, but this one was suffered when Hoerner collided with umpire Dan Iassogna during a recent game. Through 29 games on the season, he’s hitting .271/.293/.396, wRC+ of 94. It’s a rarity for his plate appearances to conclude with the ball in the catcher’s mitt behind him, as Hoerner has an incredibly low walk rate of 2% as well as a very low 14.1% strikeout rate. No timeline has been given for his recovery process.
As for Simmons, he was signed by the Cubs to a one-year contract that will pay him $4M plus incentives. However, shoulder soreness has kept him on the IL for the entire season until now, meaning he’s yet to play in a game as a Cub. He has always provided elite defense but has rarely provided much with the bat. Last year with the Twins, his batting line was .223/.283/.274. Although that adds up to a meager 56 wRC+, FanGraphs still believed him to be worth 0.8 wins above replacement on account of his glove work.
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