Seiya Suzuki was a late scratch from the Cubs lineout, as the team announced to reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times) that the outfielder was suffering from left oblique strain. More will be known about Suzuki once he completes some testing, although for now there are certainly concerns about his status given the fairly wide range of recovery times associated with oblique injuries. Even though Suzuki’s issue is relatively minor, it could create an immediate problem with his planned participation in Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic.
A sprained finger cost Suzuki about six weeks of his first MLB season, but he still hit a solid .262/.336/.433 with 14 homers in 446 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2022. will expect more from Suzuki in its second year. year (especially for a Cubs team that plans to be more competitive), but the first thing to do is make sure he’s healthy and that his oblique injury isn’t causing him to miss a lot of time.
A few more notes on the two Windy City teams…
- THE Dishes And Phillies were the other finalists for Jameson Taillonas Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes, Philadelphia offered Taillon little more than the four years and $68 million he received from the Cubs. From Taijuan walker signed with the Phils for four years and $72 million, it could be that the Phillies offered similar deals to both pitchers and either Walker accepted first or maybe Philadelphia Taillon went with Chicago’s offer in place. However, Taillon said that “Thought I was gonna be a Met for a whileindicating that New York was also a strong contender. The mutual interest between Taillon and the Cubs may have been the deciding factor, as “the Cubs made a very strong first impression“the first day of free agency, and the team”made it clear from day one that I was a top priority. If you can get excited and talk about pitching with me, it really works for me. They showed me a good plan. It was exciting.”
- THE White socks aim tentatively may as Garrett HookTommy John Rehab return date, according to MLB.com’s Sox-specific injuries and trades page. Hook underwent the TJ operation last April, so the 13-month layoff would fall within the usual recovery time from the procedure. The Sox have previously said Hook will work as a reliever when he returns, so he’ll need to develop less arm strength than a pitcher returning to a starting role. Hook should go from two bullpen sessions a week to one high-intensity bullpen session a week, with an eye on throwing in game action during extended spring training, then an assignment minor league rehab.