Cubs manager provided an update today on injured right-hander . A sad recently suffered a Grade 2 strain of his left oblique and will be shut down. Anttoni Honka Jersey Counsell didnt provide a specific timeline but even moderate strains can lead to absences of weeks or even months, so A sad wont be returning to the club in the near term. Its an unfortunate blow for A sad and the Cubs. The right-handers battle with this oblique problem goes back months now. Way back in early February, just as camp opened, it was reported that he was experiencing some side tightne s. He was eventually diagnosed with a mild strain of his left oblique and started the season on the 15-day injured list. Not too long ago, he seemed on track for a fairly quick return. He started a rehab a signment by to sing 3 1/3 innings for Triple-A Iowa on April 15th. But in his second rehab outing, on April 22nd, he experienced some renewed sorene s after to sing four innings in that game. Earlier this week, that A sad would be heading to Chicago for some further tests, which apparently found this strain. Prior to this setback, he seemed on the cusp of a return to the big league team. That timing would have worked out well for the Cubs, as they recently lost to UCL surgery. Instead, the Cubs will have to proceed without Steele or A sad for at least a few weeks. Swingman stepped up take a rotation spot when Steele hit the IL. His first start saw him go 3 2/3 against the Dodgers, allowing one run. He then went 4 2/3 against the Diamondbacks, again allowing just one earned run. He got up to 69 pitches in that latter start, so hes close to fully stretched out at this point. As of a few weeks ago, it seemed likely that A sad was going to bump Rea back to a long relief role. Now that A sad is going to stay on the shelf a while longer, that will presumably allow Rea to hold a rotation job for the foreseeable future. The other four spots are taken by , , and . Its le s than ideal but the Cubs seem to be in a decent position to weather these injuries. Imanaga and Boyd both have ERAs under 3.00 so far, while Taillon and Brown are both under 5.00. As mentioned, Rea has only allowed one earned run in each of his two starts. Should a need for another starter arise, the Cubs have a couple of former first-round picks in Iowa. hasnt clicked in the majors yet but is a former top prospect. hasnt yet cracked the majors but is one of the top pitching prospects in the league and has a 1.06 Triple-A ERA this year. They also have veteran at Iowa on a minor league deal and he has an ERA of 0.40 through four starts. It was last week that the club planned to use internal options to cover for Steeles absence. Those plans surely included A sad but this new injury likely wont change the short-term goals. There will surely be intriguing pitching options available at the trade deadline but theyre harder to get now. While some clubs will eventually pivot into sell mode, most are still clinging to hopes of contention at this point. A free agent like wouldnt provide any immediate help, as he would need a few weeks of ramping up after mi sing spring training. The Cubs will likely proceed with their current rotation, though the plans could perhaps be changed by future injuries or one of the guys in Iowa forcing their way into the picture. A sad could be back in the mix later in the year but the Cubs would also be justified in being cautious in the wake of this setback. Photo courtesy of Kyle Ro s, Imagn Images Justin Faulk Jersey