I’m sure most, if not all, 30 MLB fan bases feel like their respective team handles injuries poorly, and that is certainly the case for the Chicago Cubs. So, without a doubt, fans started to roll their eyes this past weekend when the team revealed that Seiya Suzuki would not be available for Opening Day this Thursday against the Washington Nationals.
Suzuki, who hit 32 home runs and drove in 103 runs in 2025, injured his right PCL playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. The Cubs were hopeful that he would recover in time for Opening Day, but as soon as the team announced he wouldn’t, fans began to wonder if they would have to sit through the tiresome waiting game the Cubs seem to love to play with injuries.
Again, this happens throughout the league, but it’s no less annoying. A player gets injured, and instead of placing them on the injured list immediately, they want to wait it out to see if they can recover within the 10-day period. Then, that player isn’t recovering as the team hoped for, and they end up going on the injured list anyway, all the while the team is playing a man down for a week or so.
Well, this time around, the Cubs actually made the smart decision with Suzuki. Instead of trying to thread the needle and limit the amount of games missed, the team has decided to place Suzuki on the 10-day injured list heading into Opening Day.
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Cubs Outlook in Right Field
All right, now that we know for sure that Suzuki will be on the injured list to begin the regular season, we can look into the team’s plan to replace him in right field. Hopefully, this will only be a short-term issue with Suzuki missing the minimum amount of time recovering from the knee injury.
Veteran outfielder Michael Conforto locked up a spot on the Opening Day roster thanks to Suzuki’s absence. Conforto, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs at the beginning of spring training action, and while it appeared as though he was trending toward an Opening Day spot, the injury to Suzuki confirmed his addition to the bench mix.
With Ian Happ in left field, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field, Conforto is currently the most experienced player in the outfield who is competing for playing time with Suzuki out for the first chunk of games. Second-year player Matt Shaw has looked a bit shaky in his audition in the outfield during spring training, but it does appear as though the Cubs do want to use him in right field on occasion this season.
If the team is concerned about Shaw’s defense in right, then outfield prospect Kevin Alcantara could end up making the team out of spring training. Meanwhile, Dylan Carlson remains in the mix to secure one of the final bench spots on the Opening Day roster. Carlson could be the backup center fielder to begin the regular season.
