After a career-worst slump and being day to day with shoulder soreness, Kris Bryant is heading to the Chicago Cubs Disabled List.
The Chicago Cubs have lost five straight games. Their pitching is struggling, they can’t get the big hits, and the teams they run into are red hot. Kris Bryant hasn’t played since June 22nd, and now he’s officially on the DL.
It felt like Bryant’s imminent return would be the spark that would make the Cubs hot again, but now the Cubs will have to look elsewhere for momentum as they chase the Milwaukee Brewers.
Kris Bryant isn’t the only Cub hitting the DL Tuesday. Reliever Justin Hancock is going down with right shoulder inflammation as well. Duane Underwood—who made his MLB debut Monday—is being optioned back to Iowa. Luke Farrell, Dillon Maples and David Bote have been recalled to fill out the roster spots made available.
The #Cubs today:
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 26, 2018
- Placed 3B Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation, retroactive to 6/23) & RHP Justin Hancock (right shoulder inflammation) on 10-day DL
- Optioned RHP Duane Underwood Jr. to @IowaCubs
- Recalled RHPs Luke Farrell & Dillon Maples, INF David Bote from Triple-A pic.twitter.com/aUsauY2wmE
Kris Bryant’s slump ends in injury
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Before his injury, Bryant was already having a rough go of it on the month. He was striking out 32.1% of the time in June, hitting .267 with an OPS of just .706.
The silver lining could be that Bryant was never actually slumping—he was just trying to play through an injury. Cubs fans can hope Bryant’s recovery will be speedy.
And once he returns, that he might look more like the player that won Rookie of the Year in 2015 and National League MVP in 2016.
But until then, the Cubs need to find other ways to win games. They’ve been fortunate in that the Brewers have been relatively cool during the Cubs’ slump, but this Brewers team isn’t bound to stay cool.
So the Cubs are going to need to find ways to win games if they don’t want to spend the second half trying to climb out of a hole.
Next: Juan Soto deserves MLB All-Star Game consideration
Kris Bryant’s day-to-day shoulder has become more severe as the Chicago Cubs have sent him to the DL. If the Cubs can’t find other ways to win games, they’ll find themselves in trouble as the All-Star break looms.