Injury news continues to dominate the early part of Chicago Cubs camp. On Thursday it was revealed that right-handed pitcher Angel Guzman, already on the shelf due to knee surgery, has come up with an achy right shoulder. Guzman tried to throw and get loose on Wednesday during pregame drills but complained to trainer Mark O'Neal about pain in his shoulder.
"He had some discomfort in his shouldfer," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. "We just felt coming off of the [arthroscopic meniscus surgery] he's had on and off difficulties in the past, so we thought that we were just going to take the precautionary route."
Guzman said he expected to be ready to go on the field in a week to 10 days.
"I still think I will be back in a week or week and a half," Guzman said. "My knee is the main thing. I don't think the shoulder is anything I have to worry about."
The Cubs are still pursuing other veteran pitchers such as the Toronto Blue Jays' Jason Frasor and San Diego Padres' Luke Gregerson to help out their paper-thin bullpen. The Padres will trade closer Heath Bell at some point during the season, but the combination of Bell's upper echelon salary and the Cubs' lack of money available make trading for him remote.
Guzman would have been one of the top candidate for the Cubs' eighth-inning setup role if he hadn't been injured again. He has had nothing but injuries during his Cubs career.
Other injury updates: Right-handed reliever Jeff Gray still has no exact timetable to return to pitching. Gray incurred a groin strain early in camp. Hendry said he expects him to be ready to pitch sometime next week.
Ted Lilly, recovering from left shoulder surgery, missed the last couple of days of camp with a high fever. "He's been really sick for the last two days," Hendry said. "One hundred and two or 103 fever."
The Cubs hope Lilly will be in camp Friday or Saturday to throw again.