Kyle Tucker rejoins Cubs at Wrigley Field, remains day-to-day with calf injury: 'There's time urgency here'
Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker rejoined the team Tuesday, after making some progress in his rehab for a strained left calf that’s sidelined him for most of the month.
He ran two days in a row, on Monday in Florida and Tuesday at Wrigley Field. He progressed to touching the bases, manager Craig Counsell said — a step Tucker hadn’t reached during his last buildup, which culminated in the IL move.
“It was good,” Tucker said of his time in Tampa with Optimal Performance & Physical Therapies. “I didn't really want to leave the team. I like staying here and supporting the guys and stuff. But throughout the rehab process, I’d have some good days and bad days, and ups and downs — how some rehab stuff goes at times. I was just looking at trying to find some way to try and get back as soon as possible. So I brought that up as an option.”
Tucker left for Tampa last Wednesday from Pittsburgh. He said he thought missing part of a road trip would be better than the final homestand, during which the Cubs hope he’ll be able to return to the field.
“I've been with those guys for the last decade or so, working out with them in the offseason,” he said, adding that they probably know his body better than he does. “They've known me for an extended time, and know what I look like from the offseason to now, and what I've been like in past years, the progression up until now and everything. They can see some subtle things or differences.”
Though Tucker progressed with time and continued rehab, he was still out of the lineup Tuesday, and Counsell said his status was day to day.
“There's time urgency here,” Counsell said. “There's no question about it. But we just want to keep having good days, and we feel like we've had a couple of good days and see where that brings us tomorrow.”
Asked if the Cubs would still be comfortable playing Tucker in the playoffs if he didn’t make it back before the end of the regular season, Counsell said: “I haven't really thought about that decision yet. I'm still hopeful we're going to get him in there.”
Tucker didn’t have any bullish proclamations about his return either.
“Obviously I'd like to be in there today, but as of right now, it's not going to happen,” Tucker said before the game Tuesday. “But we'll see how tomorrow goes, and talk about it on a day-to-day basis and try to get in there at some point this series or next series before the playoffs.”