Cubs, Kyle Tucker circle Friday against the Cardinals as hopeful return date

The Cubs are aiming to reinstate right fielder Kyle Tucker from the 10-day IL on Friday, manager Craig Counsell said. Tucker would serve as the designated hitter for at least his first day back from a strained left calf that’s sidelined him for most of the month.

“We were on the same page with that,” Counsell said of his conversation with Tucker as he went through his work Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t think the symptoms are going to be gone, but I think he’s in a place where he agrees, and we’ve got to go. We’ve got to see what it feels like to play.”

When Tucker returned Tuesday from a stint in Tampa with his regular outside physical therapy group, he was already anticipating that he’d have to play through some level of discomfort.

“I’ll probably feel a little bit the rest of the year,” he said then. “Obviously the goal is to not feel anything and feel good to go. But we’ll see how the next couple days or so go in terms of that.”

Tucker’s calf had felt “relatively normal” while throwing and hitting for weeks.

“It’s really just the running aspect that’s kind of been bothering me,” Tucker said. “So I’ve just been trying to get better at that. It’s taken a little bit longer than I would have liked, but it’s getting there.”

Counsell said he’ll encourage Tucker to avoid going all out when game situations don’t require him to, keeping his running at 80% to 90% effort.

“Maybe the games can actually help him here and give him some confidence in a certain situation,” Counsell said.

Wednesday was a light running day for Tucker, after more intensive sessions on Monday and Tuesday. He was scheduled to go through outfield drills, hit, and run through his pregame warmup.

Horton undergoes MRI

The Cubs sent right-hander Cade Horton out to get an MRI Wednesday, after he left his start Tuesday with tightness in his rib cage.

“We want to make sure, as we go forward to the next step, we know that there’s nothing wrong,” Counsell said. “The intensity gets ramped up, and everything gets ramped up a little bit. So just make sure we know what we’re dealing with.”

Horton was confident Tuesday night that he’d be ready to pitch in playoff games next week. His symptoms seemed to be tied to an illness he battled in Cincinnati last week, which included a lot of coughing.

Counsell was more cautious.

“The next couple days will be important,” he said Tuesday night. “He wanted to keep going tonight, and we said no. So just see how it goes the rest of the rest of the week.”

Horton was “a little sore” Wednesday morning, Counsell said.

Caissie stalled

Rookie outfielder Owen Caissie is still experiencing concussion symptoms, a week and a half after hitting his head on the Wrigley Field wall while making a catch. He remains on the 7-day concussion list.

“Owen Casey is not progressing, unfortunately,” Counsell said. “We do activity until symptoms start. And we’ve been able to increase activity, but he is still experiencing symptoms during activity.”

Roster move

The Cubs reinstated right-hander Daniel Palencia (strained right shoulder) from the 15-day IL on Wednesday, after about a two-week stint. In a corresponding move, with the minor-league season over, they optioned left-hander Jordan Wicks to their Arizona complex.