Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman was hit by a foul ball in the on deck circle yesterday. Today, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that Bregman suffered multiple facial fractures. He will not undergo surgery and is hoping to return during the postseason.
Bregman was in the on deck circle yesterday when a ball off the bat of Michael Busch struck him in the face. After the game, manager Craig Counsell said Bregman had a bloody nose and a lot of swelling and would be going for more testing at a hospital.
It appears that testing found some fractures. That’s obviously a concerning development, given Bregman’s importance to the club. He has 26 home runs, a .262/.352/.452 line and 124 wRC+. Thanks to his great third base defense, he has been credited with 5.2 wins above replacement on the year.
His teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong has stolen the spotlight but Bregman has somewhat quietly been one of the better players in the league this year. Bregman’s fWAR tally is fifth in the National League, behind Crow-Armstrong, Elly De La Cruz, Otto Lopez and Brice Turang. Bregman has been even better lately, as he hit .241/.336/.359 in the first half and has a massive .296/.378/.600 line in the second half.
There is still a lot of murkiness with the timeline. Presumably, Bregman will go on the 10-day injured list and miss at least the Wild Card round of the playoffs. How long it takes him to return remains to be seen.
The Cubs haven’t yet clinched a spot in the postseason but the odds are very much in their favor. With six games left to play, they are tied with the Padres for the first and second Wild Card spots, sporting matching records of 87-69. The Phillies are a game back and hold the third spot with a record of 86-70. The Diamondbacks are the best team outside the playoff picture but they are four back of the Phillies and five back of the Cubs and Padres.
The most likely scenario at this point is that the Cubs, Padres and Phillies get those Wild Card spots but the seeding might not be known until the very end of the schedule. The Cubs are in Boston this weekend and there’s a lot of rain in the forecast for that city, further complicating matters. Once things are sorted out, the top Wild Card team will have home field advantage and play the second seed. The third Wild Card club will almost certainly play Atlanta, since that club will win the East but is four games back of the Dodgers for a first-round bye.
Bregman’s odds of rejoining the club should increase the longer the Cubs stay alive. For the short term, they will have to find other ways of covering third base. They have some capable options but whoever fills in will be a downgrade, given how red-hot Bregman has been of late. Pedro Ramírez and Matt Shaw should be the top candidates for taking over. Ramírez has a .266/.324/.419 line, 104 wRC+ and solid defensive grades at third. Shaw has a .238/.330/.419 line, 109 wRC+ and neutral grades at the hot corner this year but in just 35 innings.
Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
