Heyward rapidly healing up after hitting wall
ST. LOUIS— Jason Heyward, the Cubs’ Gold Glove right fielder, has improved quickly enough from bruising in his rib and hip area that he might return to the lineup as soon as Tuesday, the second game of this week’s series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It’s not impossible,” manager Joe Maddon said after Heyward seemed to fare well in a vigorous pregame workload Monday, including two sessions of batting practice. “Possibly by the end of the series, yes.”
Said Heyward: “If it was up to me I’d be playing right now. I love how I’m feeling.”
Heyward has been sidelined since injuring his right side on a frightening head- first slide into the wall after a spectacular running catch Friday night in San Francisco.
The Cubs had looked at Thursday’s scheduled day off as a way to get him extra recovery time if his progress dictated a more cautious approach. But Heyward said Monday the only lingering issue is a “very dull” pain in the bruised area.
“We’ll see what they say and allowme to do,” said Heyward, who’s eager to return in this series against his former Cardinals teammates. “All the games are important, I feel like, and division games, obviously. So I want to play.”
His recovery has been better than even the biggest optimists in the organization would have predicted after his crash.
“My first reaction was, ‘ Great catch,’ ” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “My second reaction was, ‘ That looks like a guy that’s going to be out for a while.’ I think we did dodge a bullet.”
Bonus time for Heyward
An added benefit to the down time for Heyward is the break it gives his right wrist, a recurring point of irritation since he hurt it on a swing in the batting cage the first week of the season. He took a few days off because of it early this month, but the injury hasn’t been serious enough to put him out for an extended stretch.
“That’s going to be annoying either way,” he said. “But it’s nice to catch a little breather with that.”
Lame- duck status quo
Hoyer suggested there’s no imminent movement on a contract extension for team president Theo Epstein and other key front office personnel, including himself, in the final years of their contracts.
“I think we’re all happy, and we’re in the right place,” Hoyer said. “And we’re confident things will get done.”
Epstein and chairman Tom Ricketts have said repeatedly since the offseason that they’re on the same page and expect to get a deal done without any hangups.
Cubs partways with Victorino
Shane Victorino, the former All- Star and Gold Glove center fielder whom the Cubs invited to spring training on a minorleague deal, was released from the organization Monday. He was 7- for- 30 with three walks and three extra- base hits in nine games for Class AAA Iowa.
“We didn’t have a spot for him,” Hoyer said of a decision that essentially came down to Victorino or Matt Szczur, whowas activated from the disabled list Saturday. “Given his career and the fact that he’s major- league- ready, having him sit down there and bide his time didn’t make a lot of sense. He should find a job.”