NEWSLETTER
You might be wondering, as I was, where Seiya Suzuki has been this week. We knew that he went on the paternity list this weekend, but he hasn’t returned yet in the typical time frame we see guys back after the birth of a new kiddo. Take the time you want and need with the family, of course! I just wondered when we might hear an update, especially with the season having only a couple weeks left. But I also want to be sensitive to any family circumstances.
To that end, with Suzuki’s paternity list stay officially coming to an end yesterday (three days maximum), we can see on the Cubs transaction log that he has been transferred to the Restricted List. That’s the list where you go if you are away from the team for non-baseball reasons. If he wasn’t back yet – like, physically back yet – then this was the only way to handle it. Unless he’s injured, though that hit-by-pitch did not take Suzuki out of the game when he suffered it, did not show any fractures on the scans, and did not put him on the IL immediately thereafter.
But, again, the Cubs did not opt to put him on the IL this week, instead going for the Restricted List. So that’s where Suzuki is, as of this moment.
Hopefully this is just a matter of giving Suzuki extra time with his wife and the new addition to the family, and/or the logistics of travel being sorted out. To say nothing of maybe giving Suzuki’s hand/wrist thing a little extra time to heal (it wasn’t a fracture, you’ll recall, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t sore or painful).
Ideally, Seiya Suzuki would have a chance to return, healthy and refreshed, for the final 10+ games of the season. He’s been putting together a good run again after another set of adjustments, and I’m sure everyone wants to see him finish this first MLB season strong.
So far in his debut season, Suzuki has hit .263/.336/.433/115 wRC+ over 104 games.
UPDATE: Sure enough, the move was just to extend Suzuki’s time away as he and his wife await the arrival of their child:
All the best to the Suzuki’s this week!
