Seiya Suzuki could not suppress his disappointment.
The Chicago Cubs right fielder was shocked when he learned the diagnosis of his moderate oblique strain, an injury he had never experienced during his career. The disheartening news means Suzuki can’t play for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.
“I know a lot of people were excited to see me out there playing,” Suzuki said Tuesday through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “So it’s just a really unfortunate decision. It’s just very unfortunate. … I just feel really bad to do this last minute.
“Last year’s (finger) injury was something that I could have played through, but this one is a little different. And it’s repetitive (motion), so I want to make sure that it’s 100% and it’s not going to come back again when I get on the field.”
Suzuki had felt some tightness before he was scratched from Saturday’s Cactus League game, but his unfamiliarity with oblique injuries made it tough to judge at what point he should stop doing baseball activities.
When asked what the grade of Suzuki’s oblique strain is, manager David Ross reiterated the Cubs are labeling it a moderate strain, joking, “I never made good grades in school … so I have no idea.”
The Cubs do not have a timeline for Suzuki’s return and are in the process of formulating a plan. Oblique injuries are notorious for their propensity to linger or reaggravate. In 2021, Nico Hoerner twice went on the injured list because of his right oblique injury, costing him 54 games. He missed seven weeks with a strain the first time and tightness kept him out the final 1½ weeks of the season. Yan Gomes, though, missed only 15 games last summer because of a left oblique strain.
Suzuki’s readiness by opening day on March 30 appears murky.
“The goal for us is when he’s back we don’t lose him again,” Ross said. “Pushing it toward some date that we all look forward to doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. We want him to get back completely healthy. If that’s opening day, great. If it’s five days in, great, if it’s two weeks in, fine.”
The oblique injury marks the second time in two years with the Cubs in which Suzuki has been sidelined. Suzuki missed 35 games between May and June because of a sprained left ring finger. He pushed to return quickly, first delaying the IL move for four days in an effort to play through the injury and then tried to return two to three weeks into his IL stint, leading the Cubs eventually to shut him down from hitting when his finger swelling wasn’t fully dissipating.
Suzuki has learned from last year’s extended injury layoff.
“When it’s a long time that you’re out, you kind of want to rush yourself to be back there, and I think that’s a problem,” Suzuki said. “You always want to be 100% in terms of condition, so I want to make sure I’m ready to play in terms of this injury if I’m going to be out there.
“I don’t want to rush anything … so that’s what I’m going to focus on.”
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Source: Berkshire mont
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