Chicago Cubs fans excited as outfielder Seiya Suzuki expected back with the team for Friday’s game: "Seiya real soon" "The season starts now"
The return of Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki is imminent. Suzuki, who has been on the injured list since suffering a left oblique strain in spring training, is expected to be back in the lineup for the start of the team's road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins announced the news on Chicago-area radio station 670 The Score.
Suzuki wrapped up a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday by going 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. The homer went 419 feet off the batter's eye in the Iowa Cubs' home stadium, Principal Park, in Des Moines, Iowa.
Through his interpreter, he told the Des Moines Register:
"It was a good line drive. But I felt like I had some good help from the wind. I want to make sure that I don’t need that wind next time when I get up there."
In three games with Iowa, he hit .308 with the one homer.
Cubs GM Carter Hawkins tells @670TheScore that he expects Seiya Suzuki to be back today.
Asked by Des Moines-area reporters whether he was heading to join the big league Cubs, Seiya Suzuki said "It's a secret," through his interpreter.
As a rookie last season, Suzuki hit .262 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs in 111 games.
He’s back… twitter.com/bleachernation… https://t.co/N0ZcTbbL5T
Seiya real soon twitter.com/bleachernation…
Seiya, Seiya, Seiya twitter.com/bleachernation…
The news is buoying Cubs fans as the team opens a six-game road trip against the Dodgers. After three games in Los Angeles, the team will travel to the Oakland Athletics before returning to Wrigley Field to face the Dodgers and San Diego Padres next weekend.
Let’s go have a road trip fellas #Zooki twitter.com/bleachernation… https://t.co/Fyz3v71UHR
The season starts now twitter.com/bleachernation…
@BleacherNation @670TheScore Weekend starts now!
The 28-year-old is in his second season with the Cubs. He has fans dreaming big after he showed up to camp sporting considerably more muscle than in his rookie MLB season.
twitter.com/mlbastian/stat… https://t.co/33rGsoPsMY
@BleacherNation @670TheScore @ConnArtist99 30 HR season incoming https://t.co/0wRn1YOSvg
In addition to the return of Seiya Suzuki, the Cubs are expected to call up relief pitcher Jeremiah Estrada, 24, pitched in four games with Iowa, logging a 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP and seven strikeouts in five innings.
The plot thickens. twitter.com/MLBastian/stat…
Estrada is the only reliever on the 40-man roster who could come up right now to get the bullpen back to 8 (until Brandon Hughes comes back), so this makes sense. twitter.com/MLBastian/stat…
Chicago Cubs have been waiting on Seiya Suzuki
Seiya Suzuki will move back into his role as the team's starting right fielder, adding a considerable boost to the team's lineup. Rookie Miles Mastrobuoni, who had been playing in place of Suzuki, was hitting just .200 with one home run over eight games. Suzuki figures to hit higher in the lineup than Mastrobuoni, further reinforcing the heart of the Cubs' lineup.