Chicago Cubs: An IL stint for Kris Bryant may be for the best

As injuries and uncertainty pile for the Chicago Cubs, sending Kris Bryant to the injured list would be the right move if they want any shot to make an October push

Watching this Chicago Cubs team can be exhausting, as the highs and lows seem endless. As they cling onto a playoff spot by a game and a half, the injuries are starting to stack up, and this team would be lying to themselves if they said missing the postseason wasn’t a concern. Kris Bryant has admitted that his knee injury has impacted his overall level of play and that he’s not right. Rather than put him out there at less than 100%, an IL stint would be the smart move.

This was supposed to be the big comeback year for Bryant, and it started out that way. Batting .297 in the first half and earning another All-Star appearance, he was on track for his best season yet. But as Willson Contreras knows from 2018, it’s not about how you start, but how you finish.

Bryant has batted .249 with a .337 on-base-percentage and .773 OPS since the All-Star break, and he doesn’t look like the KB that we know and love. This downward trend started when he tweaked his knee during a road series with the Giants, and he hasn’t been right since.

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Joe Maddon, along with Bryant, broke the silence the other day and admitted that the knee had been negatively impacting his performance. At this point in the season, the Cubs need the best out of everyone in the locker room. And Bryant has not been able to do that.

Rather than give him a day off or two in hopes that he ‘feels better,’ sending him to the injured list is what should be done, and sooner than later. Time is of the essence, and letting him spend ten days healing while the Cubs play two teams that they SHOULD beat, in the Padres and Pirates, would be massive as they gear up to play the Cardinals seven times in their final ten games.

Get Javier Baez, Craig Kimbrel, and Bryant ready to go for this final stretch run, and let the rest of this talented roster hold down the fort against two sub-500 teams. Injury management could be the determining factor for this season, and we hope the Cubs handle it as best as they can.

It’s been a less than ideal season to date for the Cubs, and based on how some of the fans have acted, one would think this team is out of postseason contention altogether. This team is clinging on to a playoff berth, with a rebuild (Arizona), division rival (Milwaukee), and two teams that have had it worse than the Cubs (Mets and Phillies), trailing behind.

With 20 games left, it’s time to strap in and hang on. There’s no time to have this doomsday-like approach, and everyone that’s part of the Cubs needs to have fun playing the game and enjoy the moment.

It’s time for the Cubs to get their guys healthy, and it’s time for Addison Russell, Ian Happ, Albert Almora, and David Bote to prove their worth to this team.