In the flurry of games yesterday and rumors and action today, I didn’t have a chance to mention the update to Miguel Montero’s prognosis. Although Kyle Schwarber is enjoying great success in the early going with his bat, there’s no question that the Cubs would be better off, in total, if they at least had Montero available to them sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Montero, who injured his left thumb on the Saturday before the All-Star break, will be back soon.
After meeting with a thumb specialist who diagnosed a sprained thumb, Montero will be shut down for two weeks before being evaluated, presumably to see if there’s been some healing in the interim (Sun-Times, CSN). Even if he’s ready to go after those two weeks, there will be a period of gearing back up and a rehab stint, so I wouldn’t expect to see Montero back with the Cubs, at the earliest, until late August. Hopefully not too much later.
For now, the Cubs will continue to make it work behind the plate with Schwarber, David Ross, and Taylor Teagarden. The silver lining is the incredible experience Schwarber is gaining – and the Cubs do benefit from having his bat available – which will undoubtedly help both him and the organization going into 2016.