CHICAGO — Shota Imanaga is about as positive as one can be after an injury.

The Cubs’ left-handed ace, who landed on the 15-day IL on Monday with a left hamstring strain suffered during his May 4 start, said through his interpreter Edwin Stanberry that he’s feeling “a little bit better” each day.

It’s the first time Imanaga has dealt with this kind of setback in his career.

[Shota Imanaga injury update: Cubs provide potential timeline on ace]

“I’m just taking it day by day,” Imanaga said through Stanberry. “The doctor even mentioned that it was good it wasn’t a shoulder or elbow injury.”

A minor leg injury like Imanaga’s is perhaps the best-case scenario for a pitcher.

“With it being a lower-body injury, I can continue to throw,” Imanaga said. “I’m just thinking positively.”

Imanaga joins Justin Steele as the second Cubs starter to hit the IL this season (plus Javier Assad in spring training). Steele is out for the rest of the year with a flexor tendon injury in his throwing elbow that required surgery and Assad suffered a setback in his recovery from an oblique injury.

On Opening Day last season, Steele suffered a similar Grade 1 hamstring strain to Imanaga’s while covering for a sacrifice bunt. He returned 37 days later, but Cubs manager Craig Counsell said the similar diagnoses aren’t indicative of what Imanaga’s rehab timeline will look like.

[Shota Imanaga injury fallout: What comes next for Cubs pitching staff?]

“They’re two different individuals,” Counsell said. “The severity is different, so we have to take it case-by-case.”

Still, Imanaga is leaning on his teammate and fellow ace for advice.

“I messaged Justin this morning, since he’s gone through the same thing,” Imanaga said. “If something does come up in the rehab process that I have questions about, I can ask him. It’s reassuring knowing there’s somebody else who’s gone through it.”

Although Counsell said Monday that Imanaga’s strain was “very mild,” the Cubs will remain cautious with the pitcher’s recovery as it’s the first time he’s suffered a lower-body injury.

“Rest is part of injury,” Counsell said. “There’s more rest involved, and that’s harder for athletes, but that’s what you have to do. You attack today, and then move on to the next one.”