Cubs news & rumors: Ian Stewart, Starlin Castro, Matt Garza

There's an art to building a team from the ground up. It takes patience, skill, and a pretty large ego. We'll assume Theo Epstein has all three (actually, do we need to assume?), and the Chicago Cubs will eventually reach the pinnacle - a World Series victory. It just won't happen this year. The Cubbies have already been hit by the injury bug, and they didn't have a very competitive roster to begin with.

Let's take a look at all things Cubs:

• Ian Stewart isn't just facing an uphill rehab assignment, he's trying to stay on the Major League roster. While Stewart may be making some progress on his rehab, he's not guaranteed a job with the Cubs come April. However, Stewart isn't concerned and believes he the Cubs will keep him says Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
• Carrie Muskat of MLB.com says Stewart work don some dry swings earlier today. He's getting closer to being back on the field, but the Cubs have not said exactly when they think that will be.

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• In a frightening moment for Cubs' fans, Starlin Castro was hurt last week. Castro's hamstring tightened up on him when running to first base.
• Castro is expected to be fine, but the club had him undergo an MRI. Paul Sullivan of the Tribune said the results of the MRI showed minor inflammation in the hamstring. Castro is expected to return to the field this week.
• At first, it seemed like Matt Garza was getting back on track. Just last Thursday, he was scheduled to start throwing again. However, today he was shut down and won't pitch again until May.
• Travis Wood and Carlos Villanueva are now in the Cubs' rotation says Carrie Muskat. High fives all around. All it took was Matt Garza being shut down. Low fives all around?
• Prior to Garza being shut down, Garza was looking like a pretty solid trade target. He could have been part of a major sell off for the Cubs this season, but now who knows.

Northsiders, take solace in the fact that you will have day games to escape to during the work week, fun times at Wrigley, and plenty of prospects to wait for. Because unfortunately, the Cubs aren't in a position to compete just yet.