The Chicago Cubs received some unfortunate – albeit expected – news on their star third baseman.
Standing near the one-deck circle in Sunday afternoon’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, Alex Bregman was hit in the face with a foul ball. The veteran was in noticeable pain and bleeding before being escorted back into the clubhouse.
After the game, Craig Counsell revealed that Bregman was sent to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. He has kept fans slightly up-to-date on his Instagram, posting a pair of photos that show significant swelling and damage. Bregman has reportedly returned to Chicago at this point in time, as the Cubs look to take on the Miami Marlins in their second-to-last series of the regular season.
The moment Bregman released the images was the moment that most Cubs fans knew he wouldn’t be on the field in the coming days. Still, the severity of the injury was unknown, as was exactly how much time the organization expected him to miss.
Jeff Passan of ESPN has finally answered some of those questions, sharing on Monday afternoon that Bregman sustained multiple fractures in his face. The good news is that he will not have to undergo surgery. The bad news is that Passan simply said that Bregman “is hopeful to return in the postseason.”
In other words, whether Bregman can return in the coming weeks seems to remain up in the air.
The last month hasn’t been too kind to the Chicago Cubs. Their bullpen started to implode, while their Wild Card competition became incredibly hot. This resulted in a blown lead, making the next couple of weeks far more important than any Cubs fan would have liked.
To be sure, the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth sits at a mere one game. But home-field advantage is very much on the line, and that is a tough pill to swallow after all their early-season success.
Bregman was a real bright spot during the somewhat troubling times. He had a rough go to begin his Cubs tenure but was finally looking like the All-Star and World Series champion that the Cubs believed to be signing to a five-year deal. Over his last 30 games, Bregman was hitting .289 with 10 homers and 28 RBIs. He also had just 13 strikeouts to his name.
Add in his excellent play at third base, and Bregman was looking like the kind of veteran star that could help this Cubs team when it mattered most. But now he’ll be stuck in the dugout.
Yes, Jeff Passan is noting that he is hopeful to return in the playoffs, which is undoubtedly better than the alternative. However, that isn’t some kind of concrete timeline. It’s also unclear when in the playoffs Passan is speaking about. Does he mean the Wild Card series in roughly a week, or perhaps an NLDS appearance?
If one thing is for sure, when we consider the severity, it’s hard to foresee Bregman in the lineup for Game 1 of a Wild Card matchup. It’s only EIGHT days away!
Can the Cubs still pull off that series without Bregman in the mix? It’s obviously not out of the question, particularly when considering that they have fared well against their likely competition this year. With that said, there is no doubt that the Wild Card becomes that much harder without Bregman available. He was signed exactly for these big postseason moments.
Alas, all the Cubs can do now is keep their fingers crossed that Bregman continues to trend upward from here.
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