The day before rosters expanded to the full 40-man, when the 10-day disabled list goes away and you can just shuffle anyone on the 40-man roster in and out, the Cubs placed Jason Heyward on the disabled list. Given that it meant they got one game of Dillon Maples in exchange for a minimum 10-day stay on the DL for Heyward, it was not a great sign about the hamstring tightness he was feeling the night before, which pulled him from the last game in which he played.
Now, a week later, Heyward is still not doing baseball activities:
#Cubs injury update: Heyward (hamstring) has yet to resume baseball activities
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) September 5, 2018
Like we said when the injury first occurred, even the mildest of hamstring strains can cost a player a month. The Cubs have never labeled Heyward’s hamstring injury anything other than “tightness,” though, so maybe there’s reason for optimism?
Then again, here’s how Cubs.com described Heyward’s perception of the injury: “As Heyward dived for a ball in center field on Thursday, he felt his right hamstring pop. It was as if he was pinged on his leg by one of those small hammers doctors use to test your reflexes.”
That … doesn’t sound great.
Although the Cubs certainly have the positional depth to cover a Heyward injury – indeed, they probably get a little better at the plate – but that’s simply not a glove you want to lose for critical games. And if Kyle Schwarber’s back issue causes him to miss time also, then you’re going to start running a little bit thin in the outfield. (Chris Coghlan, anybody?)
Hopefully Heyward is able to start getting back after it in the coming days and doesn’t miss much more than another week or so. I say that not necessarily based on any kind of information, but instead just based on the fact that you’d like to have him back up to full speed for a couple weeks before the postseason begins.