Catcher Miguel Montero was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup because of back soreness that bothered him over the weekend in Cincinnati but not enough to sideline him until Tuesday.
“It’s just a stiff back, but this weather’s probably not helping things,” manager Joe Maddon said of temperatures that dipped to 40 degrees by game time.
He was considered available off the bench and is to be re-evaluated Wednesday.
Montero said he “actually felt good” Tuesday until feeling the back tighten when he stood up after sitting down several hours before the game.
“I just didn’t want to risk it,” said Montero, who downplayed the possibility of the disabled list. “I don’t think so. We’ll see how I feel [Wednesday].”
The Cubs’ emergency third catcher? Super utility man Javy Baez – who has played six positions since the start of spring training (none of them catcher).
“Javy can go back there in a heartbeat if we really needed to do that,” Maddon said.
If the Cubs need to consider a DL move, their top prospect at AAA Iowa is a catcher: Willson Contreras, who entered Tuesday’s game hitting .375 with an .866 OPS.
Notes: Adam Warren became the first Cubs reliever to pitch two innings, retiring all six he faced Tuesday, after pitching an inning in the previous game, Sunday. It makes him the Cubs’ de facto sixth starter, should they need one, if only because he’s the closest thing to a stretched-out pen guy after the starters spent the first three weeks of the season racking up more innings than any other rotation in baseball. … The Cubs have won 1 of 14 against the Brewers dating to last season. … Jason Hammel’s 0.75 ERA through is the lowest for a Cubs starter through four starts in a season since Steve Stone in 1976 (0.51). … Anthony Rizzo’s double Tuesday as his first of the season. He has eight home runs – one more than the rest of his hits combined.
