Chicago Cubs: Injuries piling up at the wrong time in the season
In late August, it appeared as if the Chicago Cubs may soon be nearing full strength. Instead, a new bevy of injuries has struck the roster this month.
Remember those days? Yu Darvish, Kris Bryant and Brandon Morrow were all on the disabled list at the time. But all three seemed to be making progress toward rejoining the Chicago Cubs in the near future. Then, Darvish was ruled out for the season. That seemed to be the turning point when the injury news went from positive to negative.
With the Cubs in a division race and the playoffs fast approaching, these injuries are pilling up at the worst time. A few of these injuries might prevent players from being available for the post season.
However, even the cases where the player has already returned to play for the Cubs, their injuries seem to be of a chronic nature. As the players continue to play through these injuries we have to question how much their ability is being impacted.
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The same day that Darvish was declared out for the year, Addison Russell was scratched from the starting lineup. The next day he went on the disabled list with a sprained left middle finger and a right shoulder injury. Russell had been trying to play through the injuries for a while. However, since he injured his finger, Russell’s hitting had been suffering noticeably.
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Russell has already returned from the disabled list. The Daniel Murphy acquisition gave the Cubs opportunities to rest Russell. However, since Javier Baez and Russell are a much better defensive combination than when Murphy is in the game, Russell is often needed as defensive replacement.
Jason Heyward is in danger of not being able to get healthy in time for the playoffs. On Aug. 30, he injured his hamstring. Soft tissue injuries such as hamstrings are tricky. Its tempting to think that a player should come back from a mild strain after a short period of time. But that is rarely the case.
No matter what you think of Heyward’s bat this year, the Cubs are going to want his Glove Glove-caliber defense, base running and all the other intangibles that he brings to the playoff roster if that is at all possible.
On Sept. 4, Anthony Rizzo fouled a ball off his foot. After he stayed in the game for a little while, but ultimately Rizzo had to leave the game. Fortunately X-rays were negative and he started the very next game.
Of all of the Cubs recent injury news, Rizzo’s is the one that I’m the least concerned about. I’m sure it hurt, but as long as he doesn’t repeatedly foul balls off the same spot he should be fine.
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Apparently Kyle Schwarber’s back has been bothering him a little bit for a little while. On Sept. 5, he reaggravated his back when he slide into third base. He told Maddon, but stayed in the game. Its a good thing he stayed in the game because he hit a monster home run after he hurt his back.
Schwarber didn’t start in the next game. However, he did pinch hit later in the game and drew a walk. On Saturday, he started in left field in the second game of a double header.
Those are positive signs; however, similar to soft tissue injuries, backs can be tricky. Anthony Rizzo went on the disabled list in the first days of this season with a bad back. Hearing that Schwarber has been dealing with a back issue for a while isn’t encouraging. Let’s hope that this doesn’t come up again this season. And let’s hope that back problems don’t begin to plague Schwarber’s career.
Yesterday, Ben Zobrist was scratched from the starting lineup with neck stiffness. These things happen from time to time during the course of a 162 game season. But when it happens to the oldest position player on the team it is something to keep an eye on.
Zobrist did start in the first game of today’s double header and seems to be fine. I would put his health in a similar situation as Schwarber’s. A stiff neck maybe less serious than a full back, but there is also the age factor. You may also remember that Zobrist missed playing in the first few games of spring training this year with a back issue.
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Kris Bryant
Kris Bryant came off the disabled list on Sept. 1 as scheduled. Since returning from the disabled list he’s been playing all over the place to make room in the lineup for other players. Bryant was even originally scheduled to start in center field on Friday in Washington.
It took a long time for Bryant to come back from this latest disabled list stint. And it was his second trip to the disable list for the same shoulder injury. Bryant has even switched to a two-handed follow through on his swing to reduce stress on his shoulder.
Brandon Morrow
Of all of the injuries, Brandon Morrow’s is the least clear and perhaps the most crucial to the Cubs success in the postseason. Morrow is running out of time to get healthy and prove that he could pitch effectively for the Cubs in the playoffs. Most minor league seasons are over. So Morrow will have to work his way back without the benefit of a rehab assignment. Unfortunately, the Cubs could be without Morrow for the rest of the year.
So if you are keeping score, Morrow and Heyward might not be healthy in time for the playoffs. Rizzo should be fine. Russell has been playing hurt. Schwarber and Zobrist have missed time with either a bad back or neck. And Bryant is back, but with a new follow though on his swing.