The Chicago Cubs\u2019 bullpen has taken a significant hit as right-handed pitcher Porter Hodge has officially been ruled out of today\u2019s game against the Cincinnati Reds. The team placed Hodge on the 15-day injured list following a strained left oblique, leaving fans wondering when the emerging closer might return to the mound.<\/p>\n
Porter Hodge’s absence confirmed for Reds matchup<\/p>\n
While the Cubs have been tight-lipped about a definitive timeline, manager Craig Counsell confirmed that Hodge will not feature in the crucial matchup against the Reds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way [Hodge has] reported it has sounded very similar to Ian\u2019s situation,\u201d Counsell noted, referencing outfielder Ian Happ\u2019s recent oblique injury. \u201cBut Ian\u2019s situation resolved itself maybe four days or five days after we put him on the injured list. So we\u2019ll see how the next week goes and how the weekend goes in Cincinnati, then have a better idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hodge first experienced discomfort in his oblique last Friday. Despite pitching a scoreless inning against the White Sox on Saturday, the strain worsened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of inflamed,\u201d Porter Hodge explained. \u201cAnd after that, [it] didn\u2019t really go away but got better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs\u2019 closer conundrum<\/p>\n
Hodge\u2019s absence leaves a glaring hole in the Cubs\u2019 bullpen, especially as he had emerged as the go-to option in save situations after veteran Ryan Pressly was reassigned to earlier innings. While Porter Hodge\u2019s season ERA sits at 5.12, the number doesn\u2019t reflect his recent performance. He\u2019s allowed multiple runs in only two of his 21 outings, with a 2.79 ERA across his last 11 appearances \u2014 nine of which were scoreless.<\/p>\n
To bolster the bullpen, the Chicago Cubs have recalled reliever Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa. Counsell acknowledged the strain this puts on his rotation, saying,<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, the next couple of days, we\u2019re a little tired in the bullpen, so availability is going to be an issue. And that means that the guys that are available are going to be thrust in some different spots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recovery outlook and long-term implications<\/p>\n
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy also revealed that Hodge has been dealing with tightness in his hip, which could be impacting his fastball command.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to spend some time to focus on [fastball command] while we\u2019re ramping him back up is going to be a really positive thing,\u201d Hottovy stated.<\/p>\n
While the team remains hopeful that Porter Hodge\u2019s injury is not severe, his short-term unavailability \u2014 including today’s absence against the Reds \u2014 is now certain. As the Chicago Cubs continue their series in Cincinnati, all eyes will be on how the bullpen reshuffles under pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Cubs\u2019 bullpen has taken a significant hit as right-handed pitcher Porter Hodge has officially been ruled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2400],"tags":[3799,5,24,535,50,4259,161,15768,15769,4,3537,889,15767,536,15770],"class_list":{"0":"post-53514","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-reds","8":"tag-2025-mlb-season","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-cincinnati","12":"tag-cincinnati-reds","13":"tag-cincinnatireds","14":"tag-cubs","15":"tag-cubs-injury-update","16":"tag-cubs-vs-reds","17":"tag-mlb","18":"tag-mlb-news","19":"tag-porter-hodge","20":"tag-porter-hodge-injury-update","21":"tag-reds","22":"tag-us-sports-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114568452406457628","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}