Chicago Cubs injury updates: Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki could return this week

The Chicago Cubs' 26-man roster has some flaws despite being tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central Division.

Last Friday, the Cubs optioned struggling first base prospect Matt Mervis down to Triple-A in favor of utility infielder Miles Mastrobuoni. While many Cubs fans have grown to have disdain for Mastrobuoni, mostly due to how often he was used by former manager David Ross last season, there is a place on the bottom of a Major League roster for a player like Mastrobuoni.

The issue for the Cubs is that they already have that played in Nick Madrigal. It's counter-intuitive for a team in the Cubs that lacks power to have both Madrigal and Mastrobuoni on the Major League roster.

Fortunately, the flaw of having both Madrigal and Mastrobuoni could be addressed as soon as this week.

Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger could be back soon for the Cubs.

The idea of Suzuki and Bellinger this early would have been the best-case scenario for each injury. In the case of Suzuki, his oblique strain was believed to be a six-week injury, placing his return closer to the end of May. The same was the expectation for Bellinger and his fractured rib. The sooner that each outfielder is able to return, the better it will be for the Cubs' offense.

It would seem that Mastrobuoni will be the play to head back to Iowa once Suzuki and Bellinger return. It's essentially a coin-flip between Mastrobuoni and Madrigal, but the former Chicago White Sox top prospect seems to be the primary defensive replacement at third base for Christopher Morel.

The other player that will be optioned will most likely be Pete-Crow Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong has impressed, given he's had more trust from Counsell than Ross last season, but it would seem that the best thing for him is every day plate appearances.