NEWSLETTER
I’m not sure which injury news to update first, but I think starting with the bad news and ending on a good note is the way to go, so …
When Jason Heyward’s name was not in the lineup last night, it gave me pause. Anthony DeSclafani is much worse against lefties, so an extra lefty in the lineup seemed to make some sense. But, it was only one game and sometimes guys just get a break. But when Heyward was absent again today (against another scheduled starter who struggles more against lefties than righties, Matt Harvey) I figured something was up.
Indeed, something was …
Joe says Heyward's left ankle is "bothering him a little bit." #Cubs
— Bruce Miles (@BruceMiles2112) August 24, 2018
I can’t remember off-hand if Heyward did something obvious to tweak his ankle on the field, but I guess it really doesn’t matter. We know very little right now, so the hope is that it’s just a nagging little thing that’ll recover on it’s own soon.
The Cubs have a lot of outfielders to cover for Heyward if he needed to miss an extended period of time – and it’s not like he’s been swinging it well lately (76 wRC+ since the break) – but, with the exception of Ben Zobrist, the other options have been just as bad or worse:
OF Cubs in the Second Half
Ben Zobrist: 166 wRC+
Ian Happ: 77 wRC+
Jason Heyward: 76 wRC+
*Kyle Schwarber: 68 wRC+
Albert Almora Jr.: 67 wRC+
*We actually believe Schwarber has been swinging it well lately, but that’s a story we’ve already covered.
Plus, Heyward’s glove in right is obviously quite valuable. But that’s enough bad news for the day. Let’s get into something a little more cheery. Like, say, the Cubs inching closer to getting their star third baseman back.
The latest:
Joe Maddon noted Kris Bryant took B.P. in the cages today, and his swing looked good in Detorit.
— Eli Hershkovich (@EliHershkovich) August 24, 2018
According to Maddon, Kris Bryant took batting practice again today, which is good news and more or less confirms that yesterday’s day off from BP wasn’t a set-back or anything of the nature. If today went as well as we hope, we could see a Minor League Rehab stint soon. And if Bryant gets his timing back relatively quickly, we could really be on the doorstep of getting him back for all of September. That’s pretty optimistic, but it does now look possible.
