The Cubs provided updates on a bunch of injured players before tonight’s game, including the state of Jason Heyward’s knee.
Frank Schwindel should be doing baseball activities soon, but Heyward might wind up hitting the Injured List if the Cubs can figure out how they want to do the roster maneuverings:
David Ross said Frank Schwindel (back) is “slowly getting better” and is expected to start baseball activities soon.
Jason Heyward’s knee soreness isn’t getting better, Ross said. “We’ll have to take a hard look at that here soon.”— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) June 29, 2022
The timing on Heyward’s knee injury is mildly convenient, with Seiya Suzuki potentially returning as soon as next week (which might have otherwise been the final straw on actually limiting Heyward’s playing time, if not his roster spot). Which is not to say I think this is a phantom injury; the Cubs have made it CRYSTAL CLEAR that if Heyward is here, he’s playing against all righties. So I believe that the knee really is giving him trouble. It’s just that a long IL stint right now would probably serve a lot of purposes.
In the meantime, consider me perfectly content to see, for example, Nelson Velazquez getting the start in right field tonight.
Elsewhere on the injury front:
Cubs updates:
• Suzuki working out here today, will begin Minor League rehab with AAA Iowa Thursday
• Stroman/Smyly: will throw bullpen sessions in coming days
• Madrigal: hitting on field, building up in his running progression
• Norris: played catch today— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 29, 2022
Marcus Stroman and Drew Smyly are still in bullpen mode, so we’re still a ways away from possible rehab assignments. A pre-All-Star-break return for either still seems plausible, though maybe not likely?
