MIAMI -- Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood will not be available for the three-game series against the Miami Marlins after being sent back to Chicago to receive a cortisone shot in his right shoulder.
Cubs manager Dale Sveum indicated if all goes well, Wood is expected to be ready to pitch on Friday in the series opener against the Cincinnati Reds. If he isn't ready to pitch by the weekend, a stint on the disabled list is expected.
"I think it's been off and on, really ever since the beginning of spring, trying to get him right," said general manager Jed Hoyer, who is in South Florida with the team. "I don't have all the years and years of background with him like a lot of people do, but I know that his arm is always something that's touch-and-go."
Wood was limited to a little more than five innings in spring training as the Cubs tried to preserve him for the season. At the time everybody, including Wood, said there was no injury issue. As it turns out, that wasn't completely true.
"It wasn't so much he felt he was hurt," Hoyer said about Wood's downtime in spring training. "It was just that it didn't feel right so we tried to back off a little bit and try to let him gather some strength and it hasn't worked so far. We're going to keep trying."
Wood was able to play catch during a team workout Tuesday afternoon at Marlins Park, but after talking afterward with the training staff, coaches and front office it was decided to send him back home.
"Right now we're trying to be proactive," Hoyer said. "We're 10 games into a 162-game season and trying to be smart about it. We're trying to let him get right here and hopefully be back with us soon."
Wood, 34, struggled in his first two outings of the season, blowing a save and taking a loss in the opening series against the Washington Nationals, but he appeared to be getting on track in recent outings.