Cole Hamels to Pitch for Iowa Cubs Tuesday Night
Cole Hamels is continuing the process to get back into the Cubs rotation after leaving his June 28th start against the Reds prior to throwing a pitch in the second inning with an oblique strain. He will throw for the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night, and then the Cubs will develop a further timeline once they see how he feels on Wednesday. Hamels missed time with an oblique injury for the Rangers during the 2017 season, and he has already stated that he will not make the mistake of rushing through the rehab process this time. Getting Hamels back to 100% health for the stretch of this season remains the number one priority.
Cole Hamels (oblique) will pitch for Triple-A Iowa tomorrow. Cubs will re-evaluate after that
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 22, 2019
Biggest test for Hamels will be how he feels day after he pitches, as expected. Scheduled to throw around 40 pitches, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) July 22, 2019
Tuesday night will likely be the first test of a few on the road to getting Hamels back to full strength, but given that many feared the worst when Cole was initially hurt, this timeline has been quicker than expected. Getting Hamels back into the Cubs MLB rotation within the few couple week will obviously be a huge boost to this team. Hamels sits with a 6-3 record in 17 starts this season with the Cubs, posting a 2.98 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP across 99.2 innings of work.