CLEVELAND -- Seiya Suzuki continues to move closer to rejoining the Cubs, following a right knee injury that flared up during the World Baseball Classic and necessitated a season-opening stint on the injured list.
Suzuki played Minor League rehab games with Double-A Knoxville on Friday and Saturday, and was scheduled to play a third game with the affiliate on Sunday. From there, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said the team and its medical staff will have a discussion with the outfielder about the next step.
“We wanted to get through these three days before we talked to him,” Counsell said on Sunday morning at Progressive Field. “We’ll get three days worth of playing to decide kind of what needs to be next.”
The Cubs could either activate Suzuki from the 10-day IL and have him join the team for its road series at Tampa Bay (Monday-Wednesday), or have him continue his Minor League rehab assignment before returning for Chicago’s upcoming homestand (beginning Friday). Counsell said the artificial turf at the Rays’ Tropicana Field was not a big concern.
“Seiya’s [being] properly prepared to start the season is all that matters,” Counsell said, “from an at-bats perspective and then just a comfortability perspective. Those two things. We’re probably dealing with at-bats as much as anything here. He didn’t get a full spring. Multiple weeks off. It’s just making sure he’s ready to go offensively.”
Suzuki only had four at-bats in Spring Training with the Cubs before joining Team Japan in the Classic.
In his initial rehab game on Friday, 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.
On Saturday, Suzuki served as the designated hitter and went 1-for-4. He singled in the third and then had to slide into second base on a subsequent double-play grounder. That was an important moment for Suzuki, considering how he injured his knee 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.”