Cubs place Seiya Suzuki on injured list due to oblique strain

The Cubs announced to reporters, including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, that outfielder Seiya Suzuki has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. 

Fellow outfielder Alexander Canario has been recalled in a corresponding move.

At this point, it’s unclear exactly how severe the injury is, but it’s undoubtedly bad news for the Cubs. 

For one thing, even mild oblique strains usually lead to absences of multiple weeks. Since Suzuki has been one of the club’s hottest hitters so far this year, it’s doubly frustrating that he’s now on the shelf. 

Suzuki suffered an oblique strain in Spring Training last year, on his left side, and missed the first few weeks of the season.

Through 15 games this year, Suzuki already has three home runs and has produced a batting line of .305/.368/.525 for a wRC+ of 139. Michael Busch is the only other player on the club who is getting regular playing time and producing more than that. 

Those two, along with Dansby Swanson, are the only regulars with a wRC+ above the 100 average. Despite the tepid offense, the Cubs have managed to go 9-6 so far this year but will now have to try to continue winning without Suzuki’s bat in the lineup.

Canario, 24 next month, got to make his major league debut last year but was put into just six games. He’s generally done a lot of hitting in the minors but with plenty of strikeouts as well. 

Shoulder and ankle injuries limited him to just 53 minor league games last year, but he hit nine home runs and slashed .273/.356/.488 in those, along with strikeouts in 27.5% of his plate appearances.

So far this year, he has reduced his strikeout rate to 24.6% in his 61 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He has also walked at a strong 13.1% rate and hit .269/.377/.481. It’s a fairly small sample size, but it nonetheless shows some encouraging progress for the young outfielder.

Whether the Cubs plan on having him take regular playing time in Suzuki’s absence remains to be seen. The club could perhaps use an outfield alignment of Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Mike Tauchman while using Garrett Cooper in the designated hitter slot and keeping Canario on the bench. 

Christopher Morel could also be moved from third base to designated hitter, with Nick Madrigal getting more time at the hot corner. 

But given the struggles up and down the lineup, perhaps there’s a path for Canario to earn himself some more playing time if he make good use of whatever opportunities he’s given initially.