Seiya Suzuki is three games into a minor league rehab stint with Double-A Knoxville, and his return to the Cubs’ lineup is now on the horizon. As manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters today, the plan is for Suzuki to be activated from the 10-day injured list before Friday’s game with the Pirates.
Suzuki will play for Knoxville on Tuesday and Wednesday in order to get a few more reps in before the Cubs make their final decision. The first three rehab games saw Suzuki start twice in right field and once as a DH, and Counsell said the team wants Suzuki ready to contribute both offensively and defensively.
“We’re probably dealing with at-bats as much as anything here,” Counsell said. “He didn’t get a full spring. Multiple weeks off. It’s just making sure he’s ready to go offensively….We want him to play right field, so we’ll activate him when he’s ready to play right field.”
The World Baseball Classic limited Suzuki’s Spring Training work to just two Cactus League games, and a PCL sprain then ended Suzuki’s preseason work altogether. Suzuki suffered the injury while trying to steal second during Japan’s WBC quarter-final game with Venezuela on March 14. The sprain was apparently minor enough that the Cubs gave some consideration to keeping Suzuki off the IL entirely, though Chicago decided to be cautious and give Suzuki more time to ramp up.
2026 is a big year for Suzuki, as it is the final season of the five-year, $85MM free agent contract he signed with Chicago prior to the 2022 season. The deal has proven to be a solid investment, as Suzuki has hit .269/.346/.472 with 87 home runs over his four Major League seasons, translating to a 127 wRC+ and 11.1 fWAR. Suzuki turns 32 in August and his corner outfield glovework has been average at best, so he’ll need more big numbers at the plate in order to land another lucrative contract in free agency (with the Cubs or another team) next winter.
Matt Shaw‘s playing time will be most impacted by Suzuki’s return, as the former top prospect has been seeing a lot of time in right field in Suzuki’s absence. Shaw will continue to be used in a bit of a super-sub capacity around the diamond, and will still get some time on the grass when Suzuki is used as a DH. Moises Ballesteros has been Chicago’s primary DH so far but he has gotten off to a slow start, so the Cubs might option Ballesteros to Triple-A once Suzuki is back on the active roster.
If the Cubs prefer to keep Ballesteros getting looks against MLB pitching, any of Michael Conforto, Dylan Carlson, or Scott Kingery could be designated for assignment as the odd man out for Suzuki. The veteran trio all made the team after signing minor league contracts this past winter, and Conforto has only one hit in 10 plate appearances while Kingery and Carlson have each appeared in just one game apiece. The set nature of the Cubs’ everyday lineup makes it difficult for backups to get much regular playing time, and things will be even more crowded with Suzuki back in action.
It’s already too late. The Brewers look like, well………….the Brewers.
Since Kingery hasn’t played in a week, I’d think he would be gone
In addition to activating Suzuki,
The Cubs may just also activate:
Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda.
Aloha folks, Suzuki is much needed, hope he’s ready to go. One point of concern is Alex’s defense at 3B. Shaw could get more time there and Alex dh like he did in the first game of today’s doubleheader. Hopefully Seiya returns on the 10th. Mahalo
Besides the glove, Alex’s bat is also a big problem right now, as a .601 OPS (and that’s with 2 HRs) and mostly lethargic swings and ABs not exactly enticing for an aging, injury prone 32 yr old.
Folks in Boston are smiling, and many soon will be laughing if this Bregman contract starts to look more and more like another in the long, growing list of Hoyer disasters.
Although no one’s perfect and Hoyer sure isn’t but aren’t the long growing list of disasters a bit of an exaggeration? You’re conveniently forgetting the signings of Suzuki, Boyd and Kelly, the PCA trade and extensions of Hoerner and PCA. Throw in how he built the bullpen last year and the trades for Busch and Cabrera and I think he’s had more hits than misses. You also seem to be rooting for a Bergman failure to fit into your narrative. A bit early to imply that Bergman is a bust; after all isn’t it still April 6th?
There is exactly one player in baseball thus far with BOTH a higher hard hit rate and lower BABIP than Bregman. Manzardo of the Guardians.
Bregman’s hard hit rate thus far (small sample size) would be the second best of his career and his BABIP, by far, is the lowest.
If he continues to hit the ball at the same rate all season, he will put up a pretty good season.
A lot of bad in play luck so far.
Yet I will add—Dansby was consistently that the top of Cub hard hit rate and EV last year. Sometimes stats do lie a little bit.
Sorry, Bergman should obviously be Bregman. Didn’t notice the auto correct.
This makes sense because the last thing they need to do is have him running around the Tropicana outfield. It’s not Olympic Stadium in Montreal or the old Vet in Philly (RIP Wendell Davis’ knees) but it’s not ideal coming off of a lower body injury.
I think Ballesteros gets sent back to AAA for a short stint to work on what he is learning about the difference with real MLB pitching.