CLEVELAND -- Seiya Suzuki took another step toward rejoining the Cubs on Friday night, when he took the field for Double-A Knoxville in his first game action since injuring his right knee during the World Baseball Classic with Team Japan.
The Cubs had Suzuki join the Smokies to begin a Minor League rehab assignment that does not have a firm end point at the moment. Manager Craig Counsell recently estimated that Suzuki could be in the Minors between three to seven days prior to being activated from the 10-day injured list.
In his initial rehab game, Suzuki played five innings in right field and was able to get three plate appearances in that span. He connected for a single in his first at-bat in the first, contributed a sacrifice fly in his next trip to the plate and later was called out on strikes.
Suzuki has been successfully ramping up his activity since rejoining the Cubs after Japan was eliminated in the Classic. In the first inning of Japan’s quarterfinals loss to Venezuela on March 14, the outfielder attempted a stolen base and left the field limping with the knee injury.
Suzuki was diagnosed with a mild sprain of the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee and began the season on the IL.
During the Cubs’ recent homestand, Suzuki advanced to on-field batting practice on Monday and then did a higher-intensity workout on Tuesday that included outfield drills, baserunning and sliding. Counsell called it “one last test” before the Cubs’ right fielder could head out to resume playing games.
Last season, Suzuki finished with career highs in home runs (32), walks (71) and RBIs (103), while also posting 31 doubles, a .478 slugging percentage and a 130 OPS+ for the Cubs. The right fielder then hit another three homers with a .613 SLG in eight postseason games in Chicago’s run to the National League Division Series.
The Cubs want to be sure Suzuki will not be limited to the designated hitter role prior to taking him off the IL.
“A little bit will be on how he feels, for sure,” Counsell said recently. “We want him to play right field, so we’ll activate him when he’s ready to play right field.”