CHICAGO -- If Alex Bregman is not spotted in the Cubs’ locker room before a game, chances are he is down the tunnel in the batting cage. That was no different on Tuesday afternoon, even with his left cheek and eye still bruised and swollen from the foul ball that struck him in the on-deck circle on Sunday in Cincinnati.
“He’s completely himself,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He can’t sit still. He’s all over the room. Those are really good signs.”
All the worst-case scenarios that immediately came to mind for anyone who witnessed Sunday’s freak accident have, by all accounts, been avoided. Bregman has had multiple appointments with a variety of specialists and has received positive news on all fronts. His vision is fine. There are multiple fractures in his cheek area, but no surgery is required.
Counsell noted prior to Tuesday’s game against the Marlins that Bregman would not be placed on the injured list and a return before the end of the regular season has not been ruled out. In the coming days, Bregman will continue to ramp up his activity to gauge whether any symptoms arise, and the Cubs’ medical and training staff will assess and proceed from there.
“I think Alex is going to be fine, I really do,” Counsell said. “He’s planning on playing. He knew he had to get some good news from the doctors. He got that good news. So he’s going to do everything in his power. And as long as symptoms don’t increase, or happen as he increases activity, I think you’re going to see him play.”
After this three-game series at home against the Marlins, the Cubs are scheduled to play three games against the Red Sox in Boston, where Bregman played last season. The North Siders headed into Tuesday atop the National League Wild Card standings.
In the fourth inning of Sunday’s 9-1 win over the Reds, Michael Busch checked his swing and fouled off a pitch from Cincinnati’s Luis Mey. The baseball hit the dirt and then struck Bregman in the face as he prepared to hit. The third baseman immediately dropped his bat, grabbed his face and headed down the dugout steps with members of Chicago’s staff.
Bregman was examined at a local hospital and cleared of any concussion symptoms. He posted photos on his Instagram account that showed severe swelling around his eye, but declared, “I’ll be back.” The Cubs had a staffer remain in Cincinnati to drive back to Chicago with Bregman, as opposed to having him fly back with the team.
“He doesn’t look great, that’s for sure,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer joked. “But no one loves to play more than him. I can say that with no equivocation. I’ve never had a player that loves baseball as much as he does. He just wants to play all the time. Right away, when we first heard from him afterwards, [he said] he was going to find a way to do it.
“There were scenarios where there was no way it was going to happen -- if he needed surgery or things like that. But he didn’t. Now he has the chance to get out there. And there’s nothing he wants to do more. It’s impressive.”
During the pregame hours on Tuesday, Bregman got a workout in and also donned a helmet and headed into the batting cage to track pitches on the high-velocity Trajekt machine. Around the clubhouse and in the cage, Bregman was very much acting like his usual self, which brought a smile to Nico Hoerner’s face.
“His reaction to everything has been uplifting,” Hoerner said. “Just in being relentlessly aggressive and positive and speaking about all the things he’s excited to do and turn it into. Just his own mentality kind of leads the group in that way in how to handle it. It was a super jarring thing and terrible timing, obviously.”
Through 153 games this season, the 32-year-old Bregman has hit .262 with 26 homers, 32 doubles, 89 RBIs and an .804 OPS. Since the All-Star break, however, only teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong (4.5) has been worth more wins above replacement (per FanGraphs) in the Majors than Bregman (3.4). The third baseman has hit .296 with 17 homers, 17 doubles, 48 RBIs and a .978 OPS in 59 games in the second half.
While Bregman is out, the Cubs have both Pedro Ramírez and Matt Shaw as options for third base. Ramírez -- recently the primary starter at second base, while Hoerner manned short with Dansby Swanson on the IL -- was in the lineup on Tuesday night. Shaw was Chicago’s main third baseman last year before Bregman came aboard via his five-year, $175 million deal.
“No one’s asking anyone to replace Breggy and what he’s done this year,” Hoerner said. “But in the meantime, we’re very well-equipped to handle it.”