CINCINNATI — As the Chicago Cubs continue to discuss their postseason plans, Kyle Tucker’s status remains uncertain, making this an important week for the All-Star outfielder who’s been sidelined with a strained left calf for nearly all of September.

Tucker left the team before last week’s clinch party in Pittsburgh, traveling to Florida to consult with a Tampa-based physical therapist and receive additional treatment. Tucker, who grew up in Tampa, has worked with this group before, as part of his offseason training and while he was playing for the Houston Astros.

In this current rehab program, Tucker has not yet progressed to running, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Sunday, though he has been hitting. After multiple sessions of physical therapy, Tucker is scheduled to travel to Chicago later on Monday and then get reevaluated before Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field. For now, Counsell is essentially ruling Tucker out of that night’s lineup.

“We’ll have to just kind of assess progress at that point,” Counsell said before Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. “We’ve got to figure out when and if he’s going to be available.”

Clearly, this is not an ideal situation. Assuming Tucker is unavailable Tuesday, that would leave only five more games on the regular-season schedule. “Of course,” Counsell said, “you’d want some at-bats. And he’s said that.”

Tucker also might be one of those naturally gifted hitters who can just show up for the playoffs and produce. His pregame routine is known to be light. He doesn’t wear himself out in the batting cage. He goes by feel and tries to keep a simple approach.

That low-maintenance program works for Tucker, an even-keeled personality who returned from a fractured right shin last season and immediately started contributing again. That example with the Astros gives the Cubs some degree of reassurance.

“Absolutely,” Counsell said. “He had a tremendous September last year coming off a similar situation.”

Having their best hitter approaching a one-month layoff right before the playoffs is not how the Cubs would have scripted this. But as Counsell said, to keep playing October baseball, a team needs certain players to do special things.

Kyle Schwarber missed almost the entire 2016 season and still became a Cubs legend during that World Series. In the third game of that season, Schwarber wrecked his left knee during an outfield collision and sat out two playoff rounds before making his stunning comeback.

Schwarber warmed up with only eight plate appearances in the Arizona Fall League and then produced seven hits and three walks in five World Series games. Thereby proving, a Cubs official once joked, that spring training is totally overrated.

Tucker previously indicated that he does not need a specific amount of at-bats to get ready for the playoffs.

“Nobody knows the right answer to that question,” Counsell said. “We have history on both sides of it. We have examples on both sides of it. We feel better if we see it, right? It just makes us feel better. I could feel better, but it’s not going to help on Tuesday. If Cubs fans feel better, it’s not going to help on Tuesday.

“The beautiful part about it, for him, is I really don’t think it’s going to help him. I don’t think he’s wired that way.”

• Shota Imanaga is still searching for answers, trying to fine-tune his game for the playoffs. The Japanese pitcher acknowledged that he needs to find better consistency with his delivery, a manageable issue that can be linked to the strained left hamstring he felt in May.

Imanaga spent almost two months on the injured list, which might have helped preserve his left arm for October. For the season, though, he has a 6.75 ERA in the first inning, and he’ll have to figure it out quickly during his first start in a major-league postseason.

“Right now, it feels like every day is a little different,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “Obviously, when you’re doing well, there’s consistency with it. But for me right now, it’s finding what’s working that day and then making an adjustment there. Hopefully, I make that adjustment early.”

Imanaga has produced another strong season (9-7, 3.37 ERA), albeit at a notch below last year’s All-Star performance, which put his name in the National League’s Cy Young and Rookie of the Year voting. As a flyball pitcher, he has demonstrated a unique ability to minimize damage and play that cat-and-mouse game.

Still, Imanaga has allowed 29 home runs through 139 innings this season, a jump from the 27 home runs he gave up in 173 1/3 innings last year. His stuff, a rival evaluator noted, is not quite as crisp.

“That’s something I’ve been trying to work on, but it seems like the opposing hitters have the upper hand there,” Imanaga said. “Looking at the home runs, a lot of them tend to be fastballs, so it’s either change the usage or better execution. It’s something that I need to take a deeper look at, and then see what we need to do.”

• Daniel Palencia checked the boxes during Saturday’s rehab appearance with Triple-A Iowa, testing his right shoulder and feeling good enough that he was scheduled to return to Chicago on Sunday, seemingly moving closer to claiming his spot in a playoff bullpen.

“He’ll rejoin us,” Counsell said, “and we’ll figure out activation.”

With Sunday marking the end of Iowa’s season, the Cubs are planning to assemble a taxi squad at their Arizona complex so that players such as catcher Miguel Amaya, reliever Porter Hodge and pitcher Ben Brown can continue training.

Amaya, who’s on the injured list with a sprained left ankle and pushing to return, handled some catching duties during his Triple-A rehab assignment.

• Brad Keller was cut by the worst team in major-league history.

As the Chicago White Sox stumbled toward 121 losses last year, they promoted Keller from Triple-A Charlotte in late April, and then used him in five games before designating him for assignment in May. The rejection turned around his career.

The Boston Red Sox quickly added Keller, exposing him to new information and different ideas about pitching while he bounced between the majors and Triple A. With a 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame, he had primarily handled a starter’s workload over six seasons with the Kansas City Royals. When the Cubs signed him to a minor-league deal last winter, it looked like he might provide some depth for the rotation.

Keller, 30, has instead become the best reliever on a playoff contender that built a strong bullpen around overlooked pitchers.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been on a winning team, first time I’ve been in a winning season in my career,” Keller said. “I’m having the most fun I’ve had playing baseball. Each day, you go into it expecting to win, versus some teams I’ve been on where you almost check the box in a way, which I hate to say. But that was kind of the attitude, especially late in the season when you’re kind of out of it.”

Keller’s experience with the Red Sox, combined with his offseason program at the Maven Baseball Lab in Atlanta, helped clean up his mechanics and boost his velocity. A groundball pitcher suddenly had more swing-and-miss stuff.

After being used as an opener and a closer and in all sorts of high-leverage situations in between, Keller (2.13 ERA in 66 appearances) will clearly be in the manager’s playoff circle of trust.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a pitcher,” Keller said. “I feel like I’ve added a lot to my arsenal and things like that. My mentality on the mound has changed quite a bit. But I’m not trying to focus on that now. Let’s do this as a team and get in the playoffs and do something special.”

(Photo: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)