Less than three weeks into the season, the Chicago Cubs must overcome another injury blow to a key player.
The Cubs placed right fielder Seiya Suzuki on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain prior to Monday’s series opener in Arizona. Outfielder Alexander Canario has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
Suzuki, 29, missed roughly six weeks in 2023 when he sustained a left oblique strain during spring training. Suzuki’s absence is a big loss after a strong start to the season. His 139 OPS+ ranks second among Cubs starters behind Michael Busch (188), displaying an aggressive yet balanced approach in the No. 2 spot of the order.
Suzuki is the fourth notable player currently on the IL for the Cubs, joining left-hander Justin Steele (left hamstring strain), reliever Julian Merryweather (rib stress fracture) and right-hander Jameson Taillon (back), though Taillon is expected to return this week to the rotation.
Suzuki’s quality of contact had impressed the Cubs before the injury.
“What he’s done is he’s starting to use that as a strength,” hitting coach Dustin Kelly said Sunday of Suzuki’s aggressiveness. “I think early on that would kind of hinder him a little bit, taking some of those pitches and now he realizes that this is a strength of his that when he gets balls in the zone that he puts the bat on it, he hits it really, really hard. So he’s using that more to his advantage and less about getting into some deeper counts.
“I mean, it’s not a surprise to us, but when he hits the ball, he just hits it so hard.”
