Cubs' Jameson Taillon to miss more than month with calf strain - ESPN

CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs righty Jameson Taillon was placed on the injured list on Friday with a right calf strain, the team announced before its game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He's expected to miss «more than a month,» according to manager Craig Counsell.

Taillon, 33, injured his calf on his last wind sprint after a bullpen session on Thursday.

«He's going to miss a pretty significant amount of time,» Counsell said.

Taillon was 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA in 17 starts for the Cubs this season who just got lefty Shota Imanaga back from a hamstring injury. Now they'll have to navigate at least the rest of this month without one of their other key starters.

«There's a little room for us to be flexible right now,» Counsell said citing the upcoming all-star break. «We'll use that to our advantage and we'll go from there.»

The team recalled left-hander Jordan Wicks to take Taillon's spot on the roster though he won't go directly into the rotation. Instead, the Cubs will throw a bullpen game on Saturday against the Cardinals and «go from there,» according to Counsell.

Wicks, 25, went 1-3 with one save, a 4.06 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 12 appearances (11 starts) with Triple-A Iowa this season. In his last five starts dating to May 18, he posted a 1.65 ERA with 20 strikeouts, compared to just three walks, a 0.86 WHIP and a .186 opponent batting average.

The team might also consider a bigger role for righty Chris Flexen who has been fantastic for them out of the bullpen. Flexen, 31, has a 0.62 ERA in 16 games, including a four inning stint late last month.

«He's a candidate to be stretched out for sure,» Counsell said. «He's prepared to do a little bit more.»

Cubs brass has already stated they are looking for starting pitching before