Trevor Williams Had Appendectomy Sunday, David Bote’s MRI Shows No Structural Damage
Trevor Williams last pitched on May 26 and should have been in line to take the bump for the opening game of the series against the Padres, but he will be out of action for a while. That’s because the righty had an appendectomy Sunday, presumably of the unplanned variety, and will be out for an as-yet-undetermined period of time. That might not actually be the worst thing for the Cubs, who haven’t gotten consistent performance from their No. 5 starter thus far.
Trevor Williams had an appendectomy Sunday morning and will miss tomorrow's start. Starter to open the Padres series is TBD. Not sure how long he'll miss.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) May 30, 2021
You’d think this would be the kind of spot that calls for a spot-starter like Tyson Miller, but the big righty was designated for assignment Sunday in order to make room for Sergio Alcántara. That move seemed odd even before the Williams news, now it seems downright irresponsible. The Cubs have reached the point where all the injuries are piling up across the roster and forcing personnel decisions that could lead to bigger issues down the road.
Alec Mills isn’t ready to rejoin the staff yet, so perhaps Kohl Stewart will get the nod. Or maybe the Cubs opt for Johnny Wholestaff, possibly with Keegan Thompson opening things up, though that could be dangerous given the need for fresh arms after a short start from Jake Arrieta.
In other injury news, an MRI on David Bote‘s dislocated shoulder revealed no tears or structural damage. He’ll still be out for a little while, but this is probably the best possible news for Bote and the Cubs. Even though he hadn’t been getting good results this season, he was hitting the ball hard and was looking like he might be getting ready to turn the corner. Perhaps the mental break will help.
