Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman suffered multiple facial fractures on the left side when he was struck by a foul ball while in the on-deck circle during Sunday’s game, reports ESPN. He will not have surgery and is hopeful to return for the postseason.
“It’s just an unfortunate accident. I’m hoping and praying he is all right,” manager Craig Counsell said after the game (via MLB.com). “We have to get good results from the hospital first. He got hit in the face, so you are worried about his general well-being first. If we get a good report, we’ll move to the next step. I want to get a good report.”
The fluke injury occurred when Michael Busch hit a check swing foul ball Bregman’s way in the fourth inning. Bregman simply did not have enough time to react given his proximity to home plate. He shared an update on social media Monday morning:
Other than pain tolerance, the biggest question is whether the swelling will subside soon enough so that Bregman can see out of his left eye. If his vision is impaired, he won’t be able to play. There’s pretty much no way around that.
Only seven days remain in the regular season. If the Cubs place Bregman on the 10-day injured list, he would not be eligible to play in the Wild Card Series next week, but would be able to return for the NLDS, should the Cubs advance. Chicago is five games up on a wild-card spot and can clinch a postseason berth as early as Tuesday with a win over the Marlins or a loss by the Diamondbacks. They have been eliminated from the NL Central race.
As things stand headed into Monday’s slate, the Cubs are lined up to face the Padres, though the NL wild-card race seeding is still up in the air.
If Bregman is unable to play in the Wild Card Series, some combination of Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramírez would likely fill in, though that certainly would be a downgrade. Instead, the Cubs would have to rely more heavily on National League MVP frontrunner Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and others.
Bregman, 32, is hitting .262/.352/.452 with 26 home runs this season. He has 19 homers in his last 61 games and has been Chicago’s second-best player behind Crow-Armstrong. This is the first year of Bregman’s five-year, $175 million contract with the Cubs.
