After taking a 96 mph fastball off of his head in Sunday’s game, Kris Bryant was not dealing with a concussion thereafter, which is a win in so many ways. It was a scary moment, and it could have been so much worse.
Keep that in mind if the Cubs opt to sit Bryant down tonight in Cleveland:
Kris Bryant is "fine" but Joe Maddon believes it's 50-50 on whether he'll be in the lineup tonight. Bryant was hit in head two days ago. #Cubs
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) April 24, 2018
Even if Bryant feels good, it’s just such a serious thing that you don’t want to mess with. Sometimes, the lingering effects of a non-concussive head injury can be a surprising problem. A little extra rest is therefore very difficult to argue with.
But if Bryant truly is feeling no aftereffects whatsoever, then it’ll be good to have him back in the lineup, especially in an AL park, where the Cubs will be pulling someone else off the bench into the lineup in any case.
If Bryant isn’t able to go, then the Cubs will be left with a bench of just two players. Of course, in an AL game, it’s less likely that you’d need multiple bench players, but with the way Joe Maddon like to switch players around late in the game, it would be nice to still have an extra guy available (to say nothing of having Bryant’s bat in the lineup, as usual).
We’ll find out in a couple hours what the plan is.