Latest Seiya Suzuki Decision Could Mean a Quicker Return

So, it was just about four weeks ago when thing started to look bad for Seiya Suzuki after getting scratched from the first spring training game and then needing imaging to see what was causing his oblique tightness. The Cubs eventually found a moderate strain in Suzuki’s left oblique and for a few weeks things looked bleak for the right fielder as the injury forced him to withdraw from playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. However, Suzuki has been making quick progress in Cubs camp and now it seems like he won’t be missing as much time as we first thought.

Suzuki has been ramping up his baseball activities in the last 10-14 days and although he will begin the season on the injured list, the Cubs are keeping the door open to the right-handed hitter missing the least amount of time as possible. Suzuki took batting practice on Saturday and The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma shared this important note.

The Cubs are going to have Suzuki play in a minor league game down in Arizona, but he won’t be appearing in any of the final Cactus League games with the big league club. By deciding to keep Suzuki out of one of the MLB spring training games, they will have the option to backdate his stint on the injury list if they choose to.

If Suzuki misses the minimum amount of time on the 10-day injured list and it is backdated, then he could be reactivated as soon as April 7, when the Cubs host the Texas Rangers. That would mean Suzuki could only miss the first two series of the season, three games apiece against the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds, respectively.

Even if Suzuki’s time on the injury list is extended a bit longer, because of early off-days on the schedule, he could return in the second week of April and still only miss fewer than 10 games.

Of course, even if Suzuki feels pain free there is still the question of how much time he needs to be ready to face MLB pitching. He’ll be on a rehab stint down in the minors and I’m sure he’ll be hitting off machines and taking lots of batting practice, but we’re still talking about a player missing pretty much all of spring training.

Also, don’t get me wrong, I want Suzuki in a Cubs uniform as soon as possible because the team is better with him in the lineup, but I still don’t want him to rush back and potentially end up losing more time because he came back too early. I’m sure it’s a tough balancing act for the Cubs, too, but they have to be certain that Suzuki is 100% before he’s brought back to the active roster.

Speaking of the roster, if Suzuki does come back sooner, then the Opening Day roster could very much be affected by his quicker than expected recovery. There’s no reason to put a guy on the 40-man roster and lose another player if Suzuki is going to miss maybe 10 games and that bench player is only going to get a couple of starts in the meantime before he’s moved out when Suzuki is ready.

But man, this would ultimately be a big win for the Cubs if Suzuki can come back and let’s say only miss a week of baseball games after what seemed like a late April or even early May return.