The Cubs have put on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain. The placement is retroactive to August 25. The move creates a roster spot for , who to make his MLB debut in a start against the Pirates tonight. Fulmers checkered injury history includes an ulnar nerve transposition surgery in 2017 and a Tommy John procedure in 2019, so another forearm-related i sue is certainly a major concern for the 30-year-old right-hander. The severity of his current strain isnt known, but it would Carmelo Anthony Jersey certainly seem like Fulmer could mi s more than the minimum 15 days, perhaps simply as a precaution given his past injuries. As such, the po sibility exists that Fulmers 2023 season could be in jeopardy, given the lack of time remaining on the MLB calendar. Winning AL Rookie Of The Year honors with the Tigers in 2016, Fulmers injury-related absences eventually saw him move to full-time relief pitching, which gave his career a second act. After posting a 3.17 ERA over 113 1/3 innings with the Tigers and Twins from 2021-22, Fulmer signed a one-year, $4MM free agent deal to join the Cubs last winter. The bottom-line performance hasnt quite been there, as Fulmer has a 4.47 ERA over 56 1/3 frames for the Wrigleyville squad. However, a 3.96 SIERA basically matches Fulmers 3.80 SIERA from 2021-22, so it could be that things are just balancing out after a bit of good fortune in the previous two seasons. Fulmer has greatly improved his hard-hit ball rate and whiff rate (both sit in the 90th percentile of all pitchers) and his 27% strikeout rate is the best of his career. On the downside, Fulmer has struggled with his control for the second straight year, with his 11.6% walk rate ranking in the bottom 10th percentile of all pitchers. A lot of Fulmers struggles came earlier in the season, as he had a 1.83 ERA over 34 1/3 innings and 32 appearances prior to a rough outing last Monday, when he gave up three runs over just a third of an inning against Detroit. Since Fulmer also pitched a scorele s inning on Thursday, its probably safe to a sume that his forearm strain didnt emerge during that Monday game. Fulmers absence creates another hole in Chicagos bullpen, though Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune ( ) writes that is set to make another rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday. Boxberger hasnt pitched since mid-May due to a forearm strain of his own, but the veteran reliever looks to be on his way back to action. The news isnt as good for , who has also been out since May dealing with appendicitis, but the righty is now dealing with ulnar nerve irritation . More will be known about Burdis condition after he is re-evaluated in a few days time. These bullpen injuries could explain why will be headed back to the bullpen to provide some extra depth, while the Cubs turn to a younger arm like Wicks to try and fill the rotation gap left by (whose season is also in question ). It makes for a lot of pitching questions for a team in a pennant race, as the Cubs currently hold the third NL wild card spot and are still within range of the Brewers for first place in the NL Central. Nassir Little Jersey