MILWAUKEE (AP) — Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ won’t require a stint on the injured list after fouling a ball against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Happ wasn’t in the lineup for Wednesday’s series finale but said he could be available if necessary. X-rays taken on Happ’s shin were negative.
“Nothing serious,” Happ said before the game, adding that he did feel “a little sore and stiff.”
The incident occurred Tuesday during the eighth inning of the Cubs’ to the Brewers and caused him to exit the game. Happ also had said Tuesday he felt lightheaded as a result of the pain coming from his shin.
“It was something like, if you feel like you’re going to pass out or throw up on the field, you probably shouldn’t continue the at bat,” Happ said before Wednesday’s game.
Happ said he generally doesn’t wear shin guards when he’s at the plate. That likely will change for at least a little bit.
“I don’t love the way they feel,” Happ said. “I don’t like the bulkiness of them, so I try not to (wear them). But when I hit right-handed now for a week or two, I’ll have one on. And then once it goes away, we’ll do it again.”
Although Happ avoided a stint on the injured list, the Cubs did make a move Wednesday by calling up catcher Moisés Ballesteros from Triple-A Iowa and designating utilityman Vidal Bruján for assignment. Ballesteros was batting seventh as a designated hitter in the Cubs’ lineup Wednesday.
“It was basically just trying to put the best lineup out there today, essentially,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “In moving on from Bruján, moving forward, we’re probably going to have to make some other changes to the roster just to get more outfield depth. But for today, it made sense.”
Ballesteros, 21, has batted .332 with a .393 on-base percentage, .496 slugging percentage, nine homers, 57 RBIs and four steals in 86 games with Iowa. He went 3 for 18 with three RBIs in five games with Chicago earlier this season.
He said that earlier stint in the big leagues taught him to be more patient.
“As much as we want to get out there and do things too perfect, we’ve just got to stick to what you do and just try not to do too much,” Ballesteros said through an interpreter.
Bruján, 27, hit .222 with a .234 on-bae percentage, no homers, three RBIs and two steals in 36 games.
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