Willson Contreras likely headed for rehab assignment

Catcher Willson Contreras has been ramping up baseball activities in the last week and is inching closer to a return.

Contreras went on the 10-day injured list Aug. 12 with a sprained right knee and has been working his way back into game shape.

He went through another full day of work before the Cubs’ game Friday against the White Sox. Contreras has checked almost all of the necessary boxes to get the green light for a return.

He’ll likely head for Triple-A Iowa in the coming days to get a few games under his belt.

“Ran him through a full day of stuff today,’’ manager David Ross said. ‘‘I think he’s about ready.

‘‘He wants a couple of at-bats, so we’ll probably get him on a rehab assignment and see how that goes. Play it day-to-day but hopefully soon.’’

Right-hander Adbert Alzolay was back with the team after going on a rehab assignment with Iowa. He threw two innings in Des Moines on Wednesday.

Alzolay, who has been on the injured list since Aug. 14 with a strained left hamstring, likely will be activated in the coming days.

The Cubs are still being cautious with infielder Nico Hoerner, who has been out since July 29 with a strained right oblique.

After Hoerner felt tension in the oblique during a rehab game last week, the team shut him down for a few days to allow the discomfort to subside.

Bote (ankle) misses game

Infielder David Bote was scratched with a sprained right ankle. He was taken out of the lineup about an hour before first pitch after tripping on a ball during batting practice.

Bote left the field under the watch of trainer PJ Mainville and walked with a noticeable limp as he made his way to the clubhouse.

Matt Duffy was originally in the lineup at third base but shifted to second base. Patrick Wisdom moved to third, and Ian Happ, who was not in the original lineup, started in left field.

He said it

Ross on managing as long as Tony La Russa: “He’s a Hall of Famer. So it’s something that he obviously loves, and he’s been around a lot of winning. So the more you win, you definitely do love coming to work every single day. The challenge at this point in his career [is to try] to continue to do that. I’m sure it’s exciting for him and fun. If I had his career, I’d probably be champing at the bit.’’