Alex Bregman is DHing With Eight Facial Fractures Because the Cubs Are Desperate
Craig Counsell stated that Bregman's at-bats are 'vitally important' and it is 'too big of a risk' to play him in the field.
Playing professional baseball with eight broken bones in your face sounds like a plot point from a gritty 1980s sports movie, but for , it is just tonight's lineup card.
manager Craig Counsell announced that will serve as the designated hitter tonight against the instead of playing third base. The reason is objectively insane: Bregman suffered eight facial fractures just nine days ago, and Counsell decided that putting him in the field was simply too much of a risk.
You have to appreciate the medical threshold at work here. A normal person takes a week off work for a bad sinus infection. fractures his face in eight different places, and the Cubs just tell him to stop playing defense for a few days. Counsell flat-out admitted 's bat is too important to sit, which is the nicest possible way to tell your medical staff to look the other way.
The desperation makes sense when you look at the numbers. is sitting on 28 home runs and 93 RBIs with a .265 average this season. is limping into Petco Park after dropping four of their last six games to the Miami Marlins and , and they desperately need offense against Padres starter and his 3.21 ERA.
For anyone eyeing the prop markets, being locked into the DH spot means his bat is fully live, but the ' infield defense takes a hit. Backing starter to keep a clean sheet gets a little riskier when the defense behind him has to shuffle to protect a guy whose face is currently held together by willpower.
We will see how the fractured face handles a major-league fastball tonight at 10:00 PM ET. If manages to take King deep while looking like he just went twelve rounds in a boxing ring, the rest of the clubhouse officially has zero excuses for the rest of the season.