Suzuki rehab going slowly
Outfielder’s return will be little later than expected
NEW YORK — The Chicago Cubs appeared close to getting Seiya Suzuki back in the lineup.
Earlier in the week, manager David Ross declared Suzuki was in play to return for the Cubs’ weekend series against the New York Yankees. But Suzuki, who again took batting practice before the game, is still dealing with swelling in his strained left ring finger. His situation remains status quo.
“We’ve got one day left in the weekend, if not I’ll eat my words,” Ross said Saturday. “He’s working really hard. And we’re working on getting him back. It’s just going really slowly. So, I was hoping for the weekend.”
Suzuki’s type of finger injury essentially requires rest to get better. The Cubs’ understanding from doctors is that his finger does not need surgery to resolve the pain and swelling. That is good news at least. However, team President Jed Hoyer said Saturday that “it’s going to take a while” for Suzuki to get back on the field.
“Candidly, I’m OK with that because this year it’s really important for him to assimilate, to face big-league pitching and figure out what he needs to do going forward in his career,” Hoyer said. “And coming back and and sort of having this nagging injury and not really be able to do it well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. He needs to come back when he can really compete at this level, and it’s hard to do that when you have a finger swelling up all the time.”
It’s a discouraging development for Suzuki and the Cubs. He hasn’t played since May 26 in Cincinnati. The flukiness of the injury adds a level of frustration. An errant throw on a stolen base forced Suzuki to adjust his slide, and his hand awkwardly hit the second-base bag, jamming the finger.
Hoyer said Suzuki has seen “a number of doctors,” including getting checked out while the team has been in New York. Hoyer planned to sit down with Suzuki before Saturday’s game to figure out the next steps.
“He really wants to play and I think that’s part of the challenge that we’re dealing with,” Hoyer said. “I think he feel like he needs to be playing. Our sense is to try to be prudent about it, but I know we’re fighting a competitive guy. I do understand it’s quite frustrating, it’s a finger injury, right? That can be frustrating. You feel like it’s just a finger, but it matters.”
As the Cubs’ marquee offseason signing, Suzuki’s absence has been felt with the offense too often coming up short in close games. Although Suzuki was in an offensive rut before his injury, his presence in the lineup makes the Cubs better even though he isn’t in the same groove as when he was named National League Rookie of the Month for April.
The Cubs don’t want the strained finger to linger through Suzuki’s rookie season. That could force Suzuki to be sidelined longer than anticipated.