So many wonderful Kris Bryant updates today. This all makes me quite happy:
Next step for KB is live BP off Smyly on Sunday then hopefully start a rehab, he said on Monday. I wonder if it'll be Tuesday because Iowa is on the road Monday and comes back Tuesday. But we'll see.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) August 25, 2018
If tomorrow goes well, then, we could see Bryant in a minor league game as soon as Monday or Tuesday. As Sharma says, Iowa is not home until Tuesday. South Bend, for what it’s worth, is home on Monday.
You can see Bryant’s two-handed finish in action – it’s gonna look weird in games, given how recognizable Bryant’s high, one-left-arm finish has been:
#Cubs Bryant pic.twitter.com/x5b0QWHWWk
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) August 25, 2018
Swing changes make me nervous, especially as they relate to health, but given that this is just a change to the finish, maybe it’ll be OK. Bryant and Joe Maddon sure like it:
Kris Bryant says two-handed finish is easier on his shoulder and works against pitching: "Even in the cage, off a tee, the ball just seems to be jumping off the bat. It could be the same but in my mind I feel like the ball’s just jumping off the bat.''
— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) August 25, 2018
Joe Maddon on Bryant's BP: "Wow. It was coming off hot, left-central, hit a couple to right side. Short to the ball, really nice path to the ball. I could just tell by how he was reacting how good he does feel.''
— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) August 25, 2018
I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, since Bryant still has some steps to get through before he returns, but when he does come back, there could be a short-term roster move in advance of September 1 (when rosters expand to the full 40-man). That could plausibly be David Bote being squeezed out of a spot for a couple days, after which he’ll return, but regular starts will be very difficult to come by with each of second, shortstop, and third base filled up with Daniel Murphy, Javy Baez, and Kris Bryant. Throw in Ben Zobrist and an eventually-returning Addison Russell, and it might be that Bote will have to continue to be good at the pinch-hit heroics thing.
As I said: we’ll get there when we get there.