The Chicago Cubs got a dose of rough news on Friday that seemed to be expected given the way things were headed.
As confirmed by manager Craig Counsell and relayed by Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, young right-handed pitcher Javier Assad suffered a Grade 2 strain in his already injured left oblique during a rehab start this week.
Assad is going to be shut down with no timetable to return as a result. He will essentially have to start over the entire throwing program which had him slated to miss the first month of the season.
He seemed to be nearing a return since he was making his second rehab appearance for Triple-A Iowa, however, there was a reaggravation of the issue and things have compounded, likely keeping Assad out for at least another month.
Perhaps the most painful part of the development is that prior to having to leave the game on Tuesday, Assad was pitching well.
He racked up five strikeouts and two runs after allowing one run in 3.1 innings during the first start.
The 27-year-old has experience both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation, making him the perfect dose of reinforcement for a pitching staff that is dealing with several injuries.
The most notable is the season-ending elbow surgery left-hander Justin Steele underwent that likely would have been backfilled by Assad when he was ready to return.
Making 29 starts last year, Assad pitched to a 3.73 ERA with a record of 7-6, striking out 124 batters in 147 innings.
The campaign prior was a stronger season statistically when the right-hander showed his versatility across 32 appearances, 10 of which were spot starts. That year, he had an ERA of 3.05 and 1.226 WHIP, both career bests.
In the meantime, the Cubs are going to have to continue to rely on the likes of Colin Rea and Ben Brown in the starter/long reliever type role.
For Chicago, they have gotten off to a 16-10 start largely due to the fact that their offense is putting up historic numbers and has covered for poor pitching.
Having Assad return would have been a welcome boost to a thin staff, however, it does not appear like that will happen anytime soon.
Whether or not he can come back at any point this season remains to be seen, but the Cubs are going to have to make due without him for the foreseeable future either way.