Cubs reliever Nick Burdi isn’t expected to start baseball activities for at least a couple weeks, after undergoing an appendectomy Wednesday. But he was already back in the clubhouse Wednesday afternoon.
“To me, this is an easy one,” said Burdi, who has undergone two Tommy John surgeries and an operation to treat thoracic outlet syndrome, to name a few.
He said even his wife, Rebecca, was thrown off when he came home from the hospital and kept using his arms.
“Because usually if I’m down, it’s with an arm,” Burdi said. “So this one, not as concerned by any means.”
This first stage of recovery is focussed on letting the incision heal.
Burdi, a Hinsdale, Illinois native, made his Cubs debut last week. It was his first major-league outing since 2020, due to arm injuries. He’s allowed three runs in a total of three innings and threw the fastest pitch (100.6 mph) of any Cubs pitcher since 2016.
The Cubs have had three players undergo appendectomies in the past three seasons. In 2021, right-hander Trevor Williams was sidelined for five weeks. The next year, Clint Frazier was on the IL for three and a half weeks.
Madrigal optioned
The Cubs optioned third baseman Nick Madrigal to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday to make room on the roster for Kyle Hendricks, who the Cubs activated from the 15-day IL to make his season debut Thursday.
“Just try to try to get him back on track, really,” manager David Ross said. “He started off swinging the bat pretty good. And we’ve got a lot of guys competing for playing time over there at third base, and just not a lot of room for that skill set right now.”
Madrigal converted from second to third base before this season and has looked comfortable in his new position. On the offensive side, he had a strong start to the season, batting .345 in his first 12 games. But since then, he’s hit .203.
Madrigal will play both third base and second in Triple-A, Ross said.
