Seiya Suzuki injury timeline could force Cubs to make an early call on bench project

With Seiya Suzuki opening the season on the IL, the initial timeline provided by the Chicago Cubs placed his return around the team's first road trip of the regular season. The Cubs go on the road for the first time this weekend to play the Cleveland Guardians, but Suzuki's recovery timeline has shifted.

Providing an update on Suzuki's status over the weekend, Craig Counsell confirmed that the 31-year-old outfielder continues to participate in agility and defensive drills. Suzuki is eligible to be activated on Wednesday, but Counsell revealed the current plan is for there to be a minor-league rehab assignment before he makes his season debut. Counsell suggested that the rehab assignment could begin as early as this weekend.

It stands to reason that Suzuki would likely play in several games during his rehab assignment before the Cubs activate him off the IL. Between seeing how Suzuki responds to playing in games and days off, it would seem that his potential return is still a couple of weeks away.

The Cubs have stuck to their plan during Suzuki's absence, giving Matt Shaw a majority of the starts in right field. After the extension for Nico Hoerner, Shaw's only path to having a long-term future with the Cubs is the outfield. Along those lines, the silver lining to Suzuki's injury is that the Cubs are getting an early look at Shaw's baseline in the outfield.

Something they can look back on at the end of the season when determining if the former first-round pick is a legitimate option for one of the two open spots the Cubs will have in the outfield.

With Seiya Suzuki on the IL, the Cubs may be able to make an early call on Michael Conforto.

When it hasn't been Shaw in the outfield, the Cubs have given Michael Conforto a chance to prove that his 2025 struggles with the Los Angeles Dodgers were a thing of the past. Conforto posted a wRC+ of 83 last season, and the Cubs inked him to a minor-league deal with the hope that he could revive his career while coming off the bench.

The early results haven't been encouraging. Conforto is hitless through his first six plate appearances with four strikeouts. It's still a small enough sample size that the Cubs are going to give the veteran the benefit of the doubt, but if the struggles continue through Suzuki's return, he could suddenly be the odd man out instead of utility infielder Scott Kingery.