The Cubs placed the outfielder Seiya Suzuki on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained ring finger in his left hand. Likewise, right-handed Robert Gsellman was designated for the assignment, and left-handed Brandon Hughes will join the Cubs after his contract was selected from Triple-A.
Suzuki’s placement is retroactive to May 27, as the outfielder hasn’t played since the injury forced him out early in the Cubs’ 20-5 loss to the Reds on May 26. After a few days of monitoring Suzuki’s condition, there weren’t enough improvements to avoid a trip to Illinois, and Chicago’s busy schedule likely played a part as well. The Cubs play nine games in seven days, including today’s double with the Brewers and another Saturday against the Cardinals.
Signed to a big five-year, $85 million contract this offseason, Suzuki’s first 163 PAs in MLB went well overall, as his .245/.344/.432 slash line translates to a 116 wRC+ and 119 OPS+. However, it certainly looks like pitchers got a pound out of Suzuki, as he had a whopping 1,090 OPS on his first 72 AP but only a .545 OPS on his last 91 flat trips. Suzuki’s paycheck and his long resume of success in Japan may mask the fact that he’s still a player seeing the Major League kick off for the first time, so there will inevitably be ups and downs as he goes. adapt to.
The sprained finger adds another hurdle for Suzuki to overcome, but given that the team was still hoping he could return today, he might not miss more than the 10-day minimum. Clint Frazier (just back from IL itself) and rookie Nelson Velasquez will probably get most of the time in the right field until Suzuki or Jason Heyward Return of the injured list.
Gsellman signed a minor contract with the Cubs in the offseason and posted a 5.02 ERA in 14 1/3 innings for Chicago since his contract was selected earlier this month. Never a great batting pitcher even his best years as a reliever and swingman with the Mets, Gsellman has just a 13.5% strikeout rate over 57 MLB innings since the start of the 2020 season. .
Hughes joins the Cubs after making history on his Major League debut earlier this season, knocking out the first five Pirates batters he faced on May 17. This made Hughes the first pitcher in modern baseball history (since 1901) to record at least five outs all by strikeouts in his first major league appearance. Overall, Hughes had a 2.57 ERA in seven innings and five appearances.