CINCINNATI -- Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman sustained multiple facial fractures after being struck by a foul ball on Sunday, but he will not undergo surgery and could return for the postseason, according to a report from ESPN's Jeff Passan on Monday. The team has not confirmed the news.
With two outs in the fourth inning of Sunday’s 9-1 victory against the Reds at Great American Ball Park, Michael Busch was at the plate when he half-swung at a pitch thrown by Reds right-hander Luis Mey. Busch fouled off the pitch and the ball hit Bregman while he was in the on-deck circle. Bregman immediately went into the dugout, and he was replaced by pinch-hitter Matt Shaw.
“You never want to see that on the ball field. You can’t control any of that. It happened so fast,” Busch said. “Any time [the ball] hits the head area, it’s scary. … You focus on the game, but it’s tough.”
Bregman was sent to the hospital for X-rays and a CT scan.
The third baseman posted a selfie on Instagram showing his swollen eye and captioned it: "Thanks for all the messages yall. I'll be back." He followed up with another update on Monday morning from back in Chicago.
“He had a cut under his eye," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Sunday. "He was bleeding from his nose a little bit. It’s pretty swollen. It was below the eye. I honestly thought it hit him in the nose. I thought he had a broken nose, but I knew it hit him somewhere in the face. It’s just an unfortunate accident. I’m hoping and praying he is all right."