Cubs activate one star, but place another on IL
It looked like this weekend would finally see the Cubs return to full health.
Instead, the Cubs are swapping one star off the IL for another.
Seiya Suzuki was activated off the IL on Friday and the Cubs placed shortstop Dansby Swanson on the 10-day IL with a right knee sprain, retroactive to May 8.
Suzuki is returning after missing 23 games with a right oblique strain that sidelined him in mid-April. Swanson did not play in Wednesday’s loss to the Padres, as manager Craig Counsell said he was dealing with a right knee injury that he suffered on April 25 against Houston.
“His right knee has been bugging him a little bit so we’re gonna try to just use the day off here to try to get him an extra day here,” manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday. “He hurt it on a slide on the last day game here against Houston. And so through the road trip and homestand, it’s just not improving. So we’re going to try to get him a couple days here and see where we’re at.”
The Cubs will now be down another star.
Swanson has started slow this season, slashing .209/.285/.341 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI and has 4 errors defensively. Since that last game against the Astros, Swanson is hitting .150 with a .452 OPS, 1 home run and 14 strikeouts in 44 plate appearances. The Gold Glove shortstop had a .703 OPS before that game.
Nico Hoerner will likely man shortstop while Swanson is out, with Nick Madrigal and Miles Mastrobuoni platooning at second base, depending on matchups.
Suzuki had been a pivotal piece of the Cubs offense in the first few weeks of the season — he had a .305/.368/.525 slash line with 3 home runs and 13 RBI, while hitting second in Counsell’s lineup. Coupled with Cody Bellinger, the duo created a potent 1-2 punch for the Cubs’ offense.
But both landed on the IL in the span of 9 days and the Cubs offense suffered for it.
Before Bellinger landed on the IL, the Cubs offense was top-10 in baseball in both runs (130) and OPS (.739) and 13th in batting average (.246). Without the pair, the Cubs dropped to 18th in runs (45), 20th in batting average (.219) and 21st in OPS (.650).
Suzuki’s return helps lengthens the Cubs’ lineup. When the offense was clicking on all cylinders early in the season, Suzuki and Bellinger were manning the second and third spots in the lineup and powering the lineup. That allowed younger players like Michael Busch and Christopher Morel to shine, too.
One of the bright spots offensively for the Cubs since the injury bug struck was the play of Mike Tauchman. He’s been stellar again this season for the Cubs, posting a .402 on-base percentage and .834 OPS. As Suzuki and Bellinger are eased back into the fold, Tauchman’s steady presence is a relief for Counsell. Tauchman can man either center or right field and allow Suzuki or Bellinger to DH and — especially in Bellinger’s case — keep them healthy in their return.