Something of a bummer to pass along, in a sea of recent bummers:
#Cubs Fowler has decided to not play in All-Star Game
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) July 9, 2016
Fowler will not play in All-Star Game. Will need more time to recover from hamstring injury. Will participate in ASG festivities.
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) July 9, 2016
Fowler has opted not to play in All-Star game. No setbacks. Wants a few more days to be sure about hamstring and readiness for 2nd half.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) July 9, 2016
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That’s a real shame for a guy who earned his All-Star bid – the first of his career – with a huge first half, which came after a disappointing offseason. The right multi-year offer wasn’t out there for him, so he did what he had to do, came back to the Cubs, and it kinda felt like this All-Star appearance was something of a gold star for what he’d done.
It’s still an honor to have been voted in, and he can still go and at least be part of the atmosphere and festivities.
As for his return to the Cubs, it makes me a little anxious to know that he wasn’t going to be 100% by Tuesday, or at least not enough to take the teeny, tiny risk of aggravation in the game.
Hopefully there are no issues with his return on Friday to the Cubs, who inarguably need him back and healthy as soon as reasonably possible. However, the original plan was for Fowler to play in the outfield for the South Bend Cubs after DH’ing yesterday, and now he won’t be playing there at all:
#Cubs Fowler will not play for @SBCubs tonight
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) July 9, 2016
Again, the Cubs say there was no setback. But it’s hard to see that as anything but a little worrisome, given that it’s a deviation from the original plan. It’s not quite something over which to panic, though. There’s not necessarily a reason to push to play tonight if Fowler isn’t going to play in the All-Star Game anyway.
I guess we’ll see how the next few days go, and whether Fowler continues his rehab elsewhere, or if he gets into the lineup for South Bend after tonight. It’s likely he doesn’t play again until after the All-Star Game, and it will probably be for South Bend or another minor league affiliate. That could put his return to the big league team at some point after the second half actually kicks off.
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