Chicago Cubs star pitcher's heart scare could lead to interesting late-season dilemma

Tuesday’s game featured a very real scare that should have put everything in perspective for members of the Chicago Cubs organization and fans alike. 

No, it wasn’t the fact that the Cubs had to score five runs in the 8th inning to come away victorious.

It happened with two outs in the bottom of the 9th when 23-year-old rookie Porter Hodge stepped off of the mound and had to take a knee with what he described as an increased heart rate. 

The trainers and Craig Counsell came to check on Hodge, who has experienced similar concerns in the past and had previously been cleared for baseball activity.

Hodge stayed in the game and completed the save, but afterward, Counsell admitted that the club would have to consider additional testing moving forward.

The most important thing in this situation is the health of a 23-year-old human being, full stop. That being said, this has turned an already interesting end of the baseball season into an ethical melodrama that no one can possibly have the correct answers to.

On the one hand, you have Jed Hoyer who is extremely motivated to win in the short term due to  being in what many would consider to be a hot seat if the Cubs were to miss the playoffs this season.

On the other hand, you have a 23-year-old pitcher who could be the future of this franchise’s bullpen who is under team control through at least the 2029 season and has to be protected from causing any further harm to his heart.

So, what are the Cubs to do? 

The team has won 16 of their last 23 games and they’re only four games out of the last Wild Card spot with 17 games to play, so the playoffs are very much a possibility. Hodge has experience with this situation and Counsell even said “he said it happened to him before, and it would go away, and nothing would be of it.” 

I’m not a doctor and I won’t pretend to take a moral high ground on any of the decision-makers in the club, but what comes next will be fascinating if nothing else. 

If the team determines that arguably the most integral piece to their recent resurgence needs to be shut down, can they maintain the recent tear that they’ve been on? Can this be the kind of grounding, real-world event that rallies the team even closer together as they make a run in October? Only time will tell.