Thielbar becomes eighth Cubs pitcher to land on IL in April

LOS ANGELES — The Chicago Cubs placed late-inning reliever Caleb Thielbar on the injured list because of a strain in his left hamstring before Friday night’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said the strain is “on the mild side,” but Thielbar, who suffered the injury in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 8-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, is the eighth pitcher the Cubs have placed on the IL this month.

Earlier this week, the Cubs’ injury woes prompted a question about being restricted to 13 pitchers on the roster. As part of his answer, Counsell brought up the advantages the Dodgers enjoy by employing two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who can remain in the lineup after coming out of his pitching starts and, of most relevance to the Cubs, allows them to essentially carry an extra pitcher in what’s known as “The Ohtani Rule.”

On Monday, Counsell called it “the most bizarre rule.” Five days later, when asked if he believes it provides an unfair advantage, Counsell said: “Look, this is not a Dodgers thing. It’s not an Ohtani thing. It is a bad rule.”

Counsell clearly wanted to move on when asked a follow-up about which aspect of the rule he disagrees with most.

“That’s it,” he said. “I mean, you guys figure it out. It’s a good discussion. It’s an interesting discussion. And I think that it’s worth discussing, too.”

Of the 26 pitchers on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, 10 are on the IL, including starters Cade Horton and Justin Steele and relievers Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton and Shelby Miller. Thielbar, who had a 2.64 ERA in 67 appearances last year and a 3.12 ERA in 11 appearances this year, was added to that list, prompting right-hander Vince Velasquez to come up from Triple-A and replace him on the roster.

The Cubs also selected the contract of infielder Nicky Lopez and designated Scott Kingery for assignment Friday.

The Dodgers enjoy a little added cushion because Ohtani does not count against their allotment of 13 pitchers, allowing him to basically rehab in the major leagues while coming back from elbow surgery last summer.

“I’ve never understood it,” Counsell said Monday of teams being limited to 13 pitchers. “It’s an offensive rule, essentially. It’s a rule to help offense, more than anything, if you ask me. And then there’s one team [the Dodgers] that’s allowed to carry basically one of both, and he gets special consideration, which is probably the most bizarre rule. For one team.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that he doesn’t believe Counsell “meant it maliciously” when addressing Ohtani’s exceptions.

“They’re going through it on the pitching side,” Roberts said of the Cubs. “This is a rule that’s applicable to Shohei; it’s not a Dodger rule. This was implemented when he was with the Angels.”

The Cubs rallied to earn a 6-4 win over the Dodgers on Friday night.