PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Cubs hoped a brief stint on the injured list would provide Kyle Tucker the necessary rest for his calf strain to fully heal with enough time to be ready for the postseason.

Tucker’s time frame to return, however, is murky. Although he’s eligible to come off the 10-day IL on Tuesday, the Cubs right fielder is not progressing. He ran before Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, but manager Craig Counsell said afterward there was “not much progress, frankly” with Tucker’s calf.

“We’ll see if we can move forward,” Counsell said. “If not, we’ll just be kind of status quo until we can have some improvement on the symptoms.”

Tucker, 28, hasn’t played since Sept. 2, when he exited after the sixth inning because of tightness in his calf that he initially felt the previous few days but had worsened.

There isn’t a certain number of at-bats he believes he would need to feel ready for the postseason. The calendar will start to work against him at some point, though, with 12 regular-season games remaining after Monday.

“It’s not really where I want it to be, which isn’t ideal,” Tucker said Monday. “But I’m just trying to get back to feeling at least as close to game-ready as possible to get out there.

“I mean, really, all I want to do is just play baseball. So whatever I can do to try and get back to that, I’m trying to do, but it hasn’t gone as quickly as I would have hoped.”

Michael Soroka returns

Limited to two innings in his Cubs debut Aug. 4, Soroka returned from his right shoulder strain Monday when the team activated him before the series opener against the Pirates.

Right-hander Ben Brown was optioned to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move. Soroka, 28, joins the bullpen and can give the Cubs multiple innings. He was encouraged by the return of his velocity during the rehab process after experiencing a downtick in the lead-up to the injury.

“I’m excited to get back out and show people what the (organization) traded for,” said Soroka, whom the Cubs acquired at the deadline from the Washington Nationals. “I got to get to know a lot of these guys, and it’s going to be a lot of fun being able to go compete with them.

“It’s nice to feel like myself again, or at least kind of what I was the first half of the season. There’s a lot of things that I worked on personally this offseason to get to that point. Went backward a little bit for a while, but nice to know that there was a reason for that. We corrected that and we’re back, so I’m excited.”

Soroka thrived in a relief role last year with the White Sox, putting up a 2.75 ERA and .189 average against while striking out 60 in 36 innings spanning 16 appearances. He expects that experience to ease the transition from starting; all 17 of his appearances with the Nationals and Cubs this year came in the rotation.

Counsell doesn’t plan to prioritize using Soroka in high-leverage spots to see how he handles them ahead of the postseason, but he acknowledged there could be games, based on other relievers’ usage, in which he calls on Soroka in those situations.

Other injury updates

This is a pivotal week for catcher Miguel Amaya’s potential return to the majors this year.

Amaya’s left ankle sprain is not fully healed, but Counsell said Amaya will begin a rehab assignment at Iowa on Tuesday and will be in the lineup as the designated hitter with the hope he is able to catch later in the week.

Running is the main hurdle that remains. Looking at the big picture as the postseason looms, Counsell touted the importance of Amaya getting in games with Iowa, whose season ends Sunday.

“We felt like we’ve got to get you some game at-bats (and) game reps if the postseason roster is a possibility,” Counsell explained. “Otherwise we’re talking about just not enough at-bats and not enough game action to consider you.

“So the understanding that he’s probably not at 100% but that he hopefully could get there. There’s still a little over two weeks to go. We’ll see how that goes.”

Closer Daniel Palencia (right shoulder strain) had a touch-and-feel off a bullpen mound Monday and is scheduled to throw a full bullpen session Wednesday at PNC Park. If that goes well, he would begin a rehab assignment at Iowa on Saturday. At this point, it has been a best-case scenario for Palencia and the Cubs.

Veteran reliever Ryan Brasier (left groin strain) will resume his rehab assignment and pitch for Iowa on Tuesday. After two rough rehab outings, Brasier rejoined the Cubs to work with pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and assistant pitching coach Casey Jacobson on his mechanics.

Seiya Suzuki was not in the lineup Monday for a fourth consecutive game because of an illness that Counsell said doctors described as a version of bronchitis.

Suzuki was in pretty bad shape Sunday, Counsell added, and joined the team late Sunday for the flight to Pittsburgh. He was at the ballpark Monday and got out on the field. Counsell didn’t offer any insight into when Suzuki might be back in the lineup.

“He’s got to get his strength and energy back,” Counsell said.