Just when things looked positive on the injury front, the Cubs have had to place a key member on the IL on back-to-back days.

First, it was star shortstop Dansby Swanson on Friday, landing on the 10-day IL with a knee injury.

On Saturday, it is veteran right-hander Yency Almonte headed to the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain, leaving the Cubs bullpen even more short-handed. The move is retroactive to May 8.

These moves come on the heels of Justin Steele (Monday), Cody Bellinger (Tuesday) and Seiya Suzuki (Friday) all making their return from injury this week.

Almonte’s loss is big for a Cubs bullpen that has struggled to find consistency this season. The Cubs acquired the 30-year-old veteran from the Dodgers in the same deal that brought Michael Busch to Chicago in January.

Almonte was 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 1 save and 6 holds as one of the Cubs’ top late-inning relievers. Due to Adbert Alzolay’s struggles, manager Craig Counsell has utilized Héctor Neris as the closer with Almonte as the main setup weapon against pockets of right-handed hitters while Mark Leiter Jr. usually drew appearances against key left-handers in the opponent’s lineup.

In Almonte’s place, José Cuas was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.

Cuas, 29, began the year in the Opening Day bullpen but was sent down after 5 appearances in which he sported a 12.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. In Iowa, he fared much better with a 4.32 ERA and 18.4 K/9 (17 strikeouts in 8.1 innings).