Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto has been out for, well, a long time with a strained oblique. Fortunately, he’s been rehabbing successfully (he went 1-2 in a rehab outing last night for the Cubs’ AA affiliate in Tennessee), and he might be back sooner than expected.
“Wednesday wouldn’t be soon enough for me,” [manager Lou] Piniella said.
[Koyie] Hill has caught 207 innings since Soto was hurt. That’s nearly three games more — 27 innings — than any other catcher in baseball. The Dodgers’ Russell Martin is next, at 181 2/3 innings, followed by St. Louis’ Yadier Molina (179 2/3 innings) and Milwaukee’s Jason Kendall (174).
“I would think if [Soto] catches well tonight and doesn’t feel any after-effects tomorrow and can DH tomorrow, whether he catches in Tennessee on Wednesday or catches here, I don’t see any difference,” Piniella said. “It gives us a chance to rest Hill on Thursday, and he’ll have from Tuesday to Friday [off], and then maybe we can alternate them so both can catch.” cubs.com.
The Cubs had been pegging a Friday return for Soto. Certainly Koyie Hill could use a day off, but rushing Soto back could be the old missing the forest for the trees problem.