Chicago Cubs shut down 2 injured players, while Nico Hoerner’s status for the final week is in limbo. How much can they count on him in 2022?

Chicago Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner needed as many plate appearances as possible down the stretch to make up for time lost this year to injury.

His body might not let him play through the final week. Hoerner has not been in the Cubs lineup since starting both of Friday’s doubleheader games against the St. Louis Cardinals. He continues to deal with general body soreness even after Monday’s day off.

Cubs manager David Ross said before Tuesday’s 8-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates that the team would assess the situation after Hoerner tested what he could do pregame. With only five games left after the Cubs’ seventh consecutive loss, it’s possible Hoerner’s season is done.

Asked if a specific area is bothering Hoerner, Ross explained it’s “soreness in the areas that he’s been injured.”

Hoerner has appeared in only 44 games because of three stints on the IL: a left forearm strain in early May, a left hamstring strain in late May and a right oblique strain at the end of July. The hamstring and oblique injuries cost Hoerner five and seven weeks, respectively.

“A lot of that has to play into his swing type,” Ross said, “and he kind of finishes like (the Minnesota Twins’ Byron) Buxton where he doesn’t stop and a lot of stress on the core, and I think there’s some lower-half soreness as well. Look, with the season he has gone through, it’s just the radar is high.”

Of the players dealing with injuries, Hoerner’s health might be the most concerning given his importance to how the Cubs might build their team in the short and long term.

Ross did not want to label the 24-year-old Hoerner as a player whose playing time needs to be closely managed to help keep him healthy. Ross acknowledged the realities that exist, however, with Hoerner and Nick Madrigal, who had season-ending surgery on his right hamstring in June. They could be the Cubs’ regular tandem up the middle in 2022.

“The main thing for me is if you’re going into next season, penciling (Hoerner) in or putting him in for 150 games, that’d be a little naive, right?” Ross said. “In general, my philosophy is the more flexibility you have in being able to give some guys rest ... you’re probably going to need some form of giving both of those guys (Hoerner and Madrigal) some kind of pattern of days off.

“And how the roster shapes out in the offseason and what pieces you’re able to get in that capacity, it makes a lot of sense to make sure we find the right matchups for everybody to give guys also days of rest.”

The Cubs plan to keep an open mind as to how Hoerner fits in the lineup. He has played predominantly shortstop since Javier Báez was traded, but Hoerner might not have a set position, instead getting moved around the infield and outfield as needed. Ross sees that type of player as an asset.

For that to happen, Hoerner needs to stay healthy.

“I’m sure Nico wants to to win and wants to have a position,” Ross said. “But to maximize the flexibility of the roster and our team, that can be a huge value.”

The Cubs are banged up as they approach the end of the season beyond Hoerner’s uncertain availability. Outfielder Jason Heyward and right-hander Keegan Thompson have been shut down, ending their year.

Heyward, currently on the injured list, traveled with the team to see a concussion specialist Tuesday in Pittsburgh — the same doctor whom Ross consulted for concussion problems during his playing career.

Heyward received good feedback from Dr. Micky Collins and has a rehab plan, according to Ross, who said Heyward still is experiencing small symptoms. Ross added that’s part of the recovery process.

“I think that’ll be really good for him. He should bounce back pretty fast,” Ross said of Heyward’s plan. “He’s gotten better every single day. He’s sleeping better. The headaches and dizziness and fatigue is all kind of waning toward being nonexistent.”

Thompson’s rookie season also ends on the injured list. The Cubs put him on the IL before Tuesday’s game with right shoulder inflammation, the same ailment that sidelined him two weeks earlier this month.

Thompson experienced soreness, Ross said, after Sunday’s three-inning start in the home finale versus the Cardinals, which featured a career-high seven strikeouts. The Cubs opted to err on the side of caution in Thompson’s first big-league season. They recalled reliever Jason Adam to replace Thompson on the 28-man roster.

Third baseman Patrick Wisdom (wrist) and catcher Willson Contreras (wrist) are day to day and were not in the lineup Tuesday. While there is finality to the season for Heyward and Thompson and optimism that Wisdom and Contreras could be back in the lineup as soon as Wednesday, Hoerner’s return remains in question.

“This time of year, when you’ve gone through the process of this season, it’s getting some bumps and bruises,” Ross said.

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