The Cubs placed Kris Bryant on the 10-day injured list Saturday retroactive to Aug. 19, after he suffered injuries to his left hand in Cleveland. Bryant, who last played on Aug. 17, against the Cardinals, is reportedly close to returning to the club.
According to a source close to Pinwheels and Ivy Podcast co-host Kevin Fiddler, Bryant will head to South Bend this weekend to take some swings against live pitching at the team’s alternate training site. If all goes well, then Bryant should be back with the Cubs on Tuesday to play against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Bryant, who scuffled to begin the 2020 season, was starting to turn it around at the plate in early August. However, while filling in for Kyle Schwarber in left field on Aug. 12, Bryant injured his left wrist and fingers on his left hand attempting to make a diving catch against Cleveland.
The 2016 MVP missed the next two games after suffering the injury and didn’t look like himself in the four games he started before he was given an injection in his ailing wrist and was shut down for a few more days. The Cubs hoped Bryant would improve following the shot, but the pain didn’t go away and the team finally placed him on the injured list before Saturday night’s game against the White Sox.
The Cubs were 12-3 when Bryant got hurt, but just 6-9 overall since the injury first occurred. The Cubs have a 4-5 record since Bryant last played on Aug. 17.
UPDATE
Cubs manager David Ross confirmed on Friday that Bryant, along with Steven Souza Jr., were in South Bend and took some at-bats.
Again, if things go well the next couple days and Bryant’s pain subsides the expectation remains that he’ll return to the team on Tuesday in Pittsburgh according to the source.
