Cubs hopeful Suzuki (sprained finger) will avoid IL originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
CINCINNATI — Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki made exaggerated grimacing faces as he pulled on his shirt and a hoodie in the clubhouse after Thursday’s loss to the Reds, motioning to his jammed left ring finger.
Exactly how was the finger doing after the game?
“It might still be out there,” Suzuki said through his interpreter. “It might still be on top of the base.”
Suzuki could joke a little easier after initial x-rays following his exit from the game were negative (“They just thought I had really nice bones”).
The Cubs at this point think they dodged an injured-list move, but will have a better idea when Suzuki is re-evaluated Saturday after the team’s day off Friday, manager David Ross said.
The team called the injury a sprain.
Suzuki was hurt in the third inning sliding into second base, his finger catching on the bag.
“After the slide, I kind of moved it around and it didn’t move [out of place], so I kind of knew there was no effect on my bones, so I was relieved,” the National League’s rookie of the month for April said.
He stayed in the game defensively in the third but after appearing to experience discomfort trying to grip a bat in the dugout in the top of the fourth, he was replaced in right field by Rafael Ortega when the Cubs took the field in the bottom of the fourth.
As for avoiding the IL, he didn’t sound especially confident either way.
“I just want to see how it is tomorrow, take it day by day,” he said. “But I want to be back out there as soon as possible.”
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