Cubs left-hander was set to take Nick Martinez Jersey the ball for a start against the Cardinals last night, but after rain caused the game to be postponed until July hes seen his start pushed back until the clubs game against the Brewers on May 29. That scheduling change will give Imanaga a whopping ten days rest between his most recent start against the Pirates last week and his next, but writes that manager made clear that Imanagas extended layoff wasnt injury related, instead describing the decision as a proactive effort to manage his workload amid the 30-year-old leftys workload. Its not nece sarily news that the Cubs are managing Imanagas workload, as hes started just two games on regular rest so far this season. By inserting additional rest days into the leftys schedule, the club is hoping to soften Imanagas transition from the typical NPB schedule, where teams utilize six-man rotations with one day off a week allowing starters to pitch just once a week, to MLBs five-man rotations with le s frequent days off. Its hard to argue with the results of Chicagos plan, as Imanaga has been the best starting pitcher in the sport by the results this season and has authored a historic beginning to his big league career: his microscopic 0.84 ERA is both the lowest in baseball this year and the lowest of any rookie pitchers first nine starts in the modern era. Imanagas peripheral numbers largely back up his stellar performance to this point, as well; his 27.8% is the 13th-best figure in all of baseball this year among qualified starters, while his 4.3% walk rate places him ninth. Only , , and have struck out more batters while walking fewer than Imanaga this year, leaving the 30-year-olds with the Cubs appearing to be one of the biggest steals of the offseason a third of the way through the 2024 campaign. More from around the NL Central The Pirates offered updates on a handful of injured players today, as noted by . Most notable among those updates was that regarding third baseman . Hayes has been on the shelf for two weeks due to low back inflammation but has resumed full baseball activities, and manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Hiles) that they will meet to discu s the next steps of his rehab proce s. Given that encouraging update, its feasible to imagine Hayes heading out for a rehab a signment in the coming days, which could allow the third baseman to return to Pittsburgh at some point in early June. has handled the hot corner while Hayes has been on the shelf. Sticking with the Pirates , that same list of injury updates also relays positive news regarding catcher . The backstop to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee in mid-April and was expected to mi s at least six weeks of action before undergoing baseball activities, but is already slated to start a rehab a signment just over a month after undergoing the procedure. Delay is currently on the 60-day injured list and would first be eligible to return to action in early June, although its feasible his rehab a signment could last longer than that given the lengthy layoff. and have handled duties behind the plate in Delays absence, and its unclear if Delay would return to the big league club or be optioned to the minor leagues once healthy enough to be activated. The Reds scratched infielder from their lineup against the Dodgers earlier today due to neck stiffne s, according to . Candelario, 30, struggled in the early going of his first season with the Reds but has begun to heat up in recent weeks with a .279/.343/.492 slash line in his last sixteen games. Its not yet clear if Candelario will be out for longer than todays game, but even a brief absence would be a brutal blow for a Cincinnati club that is already without , , and due to injuries as well as due to a PED suspension. and are starting tonight at third and first base, respectively, and figure to handle the infield corners for as long as Candelario is out of action. Zachary Kent Jersey