The Cubs have been without Kris Bryant the last two games because of a sore left shoulder, which may or may not have him out even more games this week.
That said, it’s not expected – by Bryant – to be serious, or require a disabled list stint. He suspects it stems from being in the batting cage more than usual (Cubs.com), which is not necessarily a surprise given his month-long slump. Bryant also conceded that he’s been trying to play through it, in part because he “felt like there’s a negative to going in the training room and telling them you’re hurt, but sometimes, it’s what you have to do to get better. I think this will pay off in the long run.” Yes, my dude. Always go to the trainers.
Timing-wise, we can’t quite say this is why he’s been in his slump, by the way, since it sounds more like the reverse is true: the slump happened, he started swinging more to smooth out mechanical issues, and the shoulder issue then developed.
We’ll see for tonight in Los Angeles, as Joe Maddon says it’s truly a day-to-day thing, having thought yesterday would be a possibility until Bryant still felt it a bit before the game. We’ve seen Bryant be a quick healer before, though he’s so critical to this team that you wouldn’t want him out there until and unless he was sufficiently close to 100% that he’s not going to play through/create a lingering shoulder issue – never bad enough for the DL, never good enough for him to hit quite as well as he normally does. If he’s down again tonight, I wouldn’t be shocked, and it wouldn’t necessarily (yet) set off alarm bells.
Fortunately, it’s not his throwing shoulder, so you don’t have that potentially serious problem entangled with his recovery. Fingers crossed that with a weekend to rest up, and whatever treatment he’s no doubt getting, he can be back out there tonight. Maybe he’ll even be better for having the rest.