Schwarber can’t play the field
Cubs’ comeback slugger can be used only as a pinch-hitter at Wrigley
CHICAGO — The Cubs allowed the fantasy to live through Wednesday night, as the team flew back home after splitting the first two games of the World Series with Cleveland.
Kyle Schwarber had already made one stunning comeback this postseason, rehabilitating from an April knee injury to the point he could play as a designated hitter in the first two games of the Fall Classic at Progressive Field. He hit a double in Game 1 and catalyzed the offense in Game 2 with two RBI singles.
With the series shifting back to National League rules, the question was asked: Would Schwarber be cleared to play left field?
“Nothing is set in stone,” Schwarber said after Game 2. “No one’s told me anything.”
From the beginning, of course, the cause seemed futile. Even at full strength, before he tore two ligaments in his knee, Schwarber was an ungainly fielder. He made a series of misplays as the Cubs crashed out the National League Championship Series last October. His value to the organization is immense, and the risk of a setback felt sizable.
Those concerns were confirmed to President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein by the Cubs’ medical staff as the club worked out Thursday. Epstein said the doctors would not allow Schwarber to play the field, which relegates him to pinch-hitting duties during the next three games.
“The doctors were very convinced that there’s just too much risk in playing the outfield because of the dynamic actions involved,” Epstein said. “The instantaneous reactions, the need to cut in the outfield, the dynamic, athletic movements that are unanticipated in the outfield, your instinct in reacting to balls that just aren’t the case
when you’re running the bases.”
The stretch is critical for the Cubs, who recovered from a Game 1 shutout to knock around a ragged Cleveland club a day later. After facing soft-tossing left-hander Josh Tomlin in Game 3 on Friday, the Cubs will square off once more against Game 1 starter Corey Kluber. Kluber, the 2014 American League Cy Young award winner, spun six scoreless innings in Game 1.
Schwarber was one of the few Cubs to manage a hit off Kluber. He was one of several to pepper Trevor Bauer in Game 2. Chicago installed him into the No. 5 spot in the lineup despite his appearing in only two regular-season games, both in the first week of April.
“The guy’s confidence is through the roof,” veteran teammate Ben Zobrist said. “And his abilities are through the roof, as a hitter. For him to be able to step up and do that on this stage, to have the first three hits of his season to be in the World Series, it’s just really special. He’s a special player.”
Which is why the Cubs were at least willing to consider the seemingly inconceivable. Schwarber was allowed to play in rehabilitation games last weekend. He played twice for the Mesa Solar Storm in the Arizona Fall League, and never took the field. Limited to hitting, he looked tentative as he ran the bases.
The precaution was still there Tuesday night, when he doubled off the wall against Kluber. He eased into second base, moving with a gait that resembled a trot, not a sprint.
And yet, the Cubs still wanted to try. Manager Joe Maddon left the matter open before the Thursday workout.
“If you see him out there taking fly balls, that means we probably got the go-ahead to try it,” Maddon said. “Otherwise, it’s probably put on hold.”
In the afternoon, Schwarber did venture into the outfield. But he will not do the same this weekend in games. While working out in Arizona, he had spent hours tracking pitches to reshape his batting eye. He said he spent no time worrying about the outfield.
So he will still play a role in this series, but it will be limited to the highest of leverage, to those late-game scenarios against Indians relievers like Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. After six months rehabbing his knee, Schwarber could accept that.
“Facts are facts,” Schwarber said. “I just can’t physically do it. So I’m going to be ready at any time during the game to go out there and pinch-hit.”