Schwarber hit. 246 with 16 homers and 43 RBIs in 69 games for the Cubs last season. Tommy La Stella can play in the outfield, and so can second baseman Ben Zobrist and third baseman Kris Bryant.
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Schwarber, a catcher by trade, has been thrown in the outfield mix to keep his dynamic bat in the lineup, and to allow him to continue working on his defensive skills behind the plate. “He’s going to be missed, there’s no doubt about it. There’s no sugar-coating it. We love the guy”. Soon enough, Schwarber was trending nationwide on Twitter, with 12,600 tweets (and rising) about the left fielder. The Cubs announced that Jorge Soler will start Friday night, but he is learning to play there, so there is a question if he can be a long-term answer.
“It had bad things written all over it”, Maddon said after the game.
With the win, the Chicago Cubs now have won twelve consecutive road games dating back to September 15 of the 2015 season, tying the franchise record streak set by the 1945 Cubs. The idea that Theo Epstein and company would be willing to take on a big contract for a rental player does not seem too logical right now.
The injury took place during the second inning when Jean Segura hit a rope to left-center and Kyle Schwarber collided with center fielder Dexter Fowler.
Friday was a rough day for the Chicago Cubs, as they found out that they will be without slugger Kyle Schwarber for the remainder of the regular season.
“It’s not the way you plan your season going – playing two games, then you’re out for the season – but now I have to be there for them in a different way”.
Chicago selected Schwarber with the fourth overall pick in 2014. Some fans declare that this would have never happened if the National League would just institute the designated hitter rule so that Schwarber could be the team’s primary DH.
“He’s one of those guys that plays hard every day”.
Schwarber won’t be the exact reason that the Cubs don’t win the World Series, if they don’t, but to lose a player that important already before other factors come into play (more injuries, potential regression, and other teams improving/making moves to get better), certainly doesn’t help in Chicago’s quest for a historic season. “That’s what we expect out of our teammates”. The loss of Schwarber leaves Ross, 39, and C Miguel Montero, 32, as the two catchers.
“It felt like getting into a auto crash”, Fowler said Saturday in his first public comments since the collision.
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For now, the Cubs have pegged veteran infielder Munenori Kawasaki as Schwarber’s replacement on the roster, but the longer term options will be plentiful.
