The Chicago Cubs enter tonight’s opening series matchup against the Baltimore Orioles without a few of their regular starters in the lineup. With that being said, there’s a few guys that could be making their way back from the IL sooner rather than later. Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network had a few Cubs injury updates on Tuesday:
Jonathan Villar, who recently suffered an injury that required oral surgery as well as a 10-day stint on the IL, is reportedly participating in baseball activities and should be ready to return sometime this week. It was presumed that Villar would return tonight in the opening game against the Orioles, but apparently manager David Ross wants to be one hundred percent sure he is good to go before being activated from the IL.
Seiya Suzuki and Yan Gomes also reportedly took batting practice today as well and are said to be “progressing.” Ross said in an interview on Monday that if Suzuki, who’s been on the 10-day IL with a sprained finger, feels good and ready to go then he will not participate in a rehab assignment. It’s unsure as far as whether Gomes will make a rehab assignment once he’s ready to go. That said, after suffering an oblique injury it might be wise for the veteran catcher to play in a few rehab games just to be sure he’s ok.
In other news, David Bote, who had recently been playing a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa (shoulder), reportedly pulled from his assignment on Tuesday with dizziness. It was assumed that the Cubs were going to have to decide this week whether Bote was going to be optioned, DFA’d, or activated. According to McGregor, the third baseman is scheduled to be evaluated and the Cubs will have to wait and see what the results are before they make any decisions.
The Cubs may also be getting relief pitcher Sean Newcomb back sometime soon. According to McGregor, the left-hander will throw in his third rehab game on Wednesday with Triple-A Iowa. Newcomb, who has been on the 15-day IL with an ankle injury, has appeared three games with the Cubs so far this year. If everything goes well for Newcomb, don’t be surprised to see the reliever back on the Cubs’ major league roster sometime soon.
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