Chicago Cubs manager teases big changes for month of June

The Chicago Cubs have three more games remaining in the month of May before they set their sights on a busy May. The Cubs will play 27 games in June and will have a streak where they play 26 games in 27 days.

The Cubs should enter June feeling good about their prospects of making the postseason. Chicago enters their matchup against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night with a 34-21 record and a three-game lead on the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central.

Chicago Cubs have troubling injuries

The Cubs have injuries to worry about. Pitchers Porter Hodge and Shota Imanaga are expected to miss substantial time. Catcher Miguel Amaya is expected to miss four to six weeks due to an oblique injury.

With injuries starting to hit the Cubs even harder(at least in volume) than when they lost starting pitcher Justin Steele for the season, manager Craig Counsell told 670 The Score’s “Spiegel & Holmes Show” on Wednesday that he plans to make significant changes to the lineup and the bullpen to keep players fresh as the schedule ramps up in June.

“Part of the schedule starts as we go on the road on Tuesday, where it’s basically 26 games in 27 days. So that’s that’s the real kind of grind,” Counsell said.

“And that obviously means, you know, we’ll see some different lineups. And we’re going to have to be very cautious of our pitching and bullpen usage and things like that. So the Thursdays off has been a real, you know, I think it’s been a real plus.”

The Cubs could trade for reinforcements in June

The Cubs could add help during the month. Cubs President Jed Hoyer said last week that the team would look to add help via trade from the middle part of June to the trade deadline on July 31.

Counsell will try to keep the roster as healthy as possible so Hoyer doesn’t have to make a desperate trade too early. Fortunately, most of the offensive lineup appears hot enough to win games if Chicago has to tinker with the lineup to get through a grueling schedule.

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