Seiya Suzuki's rehab assignment begins Friday. He's targeting a season debut next week, boosting the Cubs' lineup significantly after a knee injury.
A return is on the horizon for Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters before Wednesday’s series finale against the Angels that Suzuki will begin a rehab assignment on Friday. The Japanese native is expected to go on his rehab assignment with Double-A Knoxville.
With Suzuki set to begin a rehab assignment on Friday, he should only need a few games to ramp up. That potentially sets him up to make his season debut sometime next week. Counsell said he’ll only need about “three to seven days."
As a result, Suzuki could make his season debut as soon as Monday against the Rays. If the Cubs want to hold him out a bit longer, he could be activated from the 10-day IL before the team’s three-game homestand against the Pirates beginning on April 10.
It’s clear that Suzuki is close to a return after making significant progress over the last few days. He has been taking part in on-field batting practice and has recently started sliding as part of his recovery workout.
Suzuki started the season on the 10-day IL following a knee injury in the World Baseball Classic. He injured his right knee trying to steal second base in the first inning of the quarterfinal round against Team Venezuela.
The 31-year-old then went for an MRI, which revealed a PCL sprain. The good news is that Suzuki appears to have avoided a major injury. He will likely only miss the first 10 or so games to start the season and will return at some point next week.
Once Suzuki is officially activated off the 10-day IL, he will return to his usual spot in the outfield. He will be the Cubs' primary right fielder this season and should be in the lineup every day.
His return will mean fewer at-bats for both Michael Conforto and Matt Shaw. Conforto has started two games in right field in Suzuki’s absence, and Shaw has started the other three games.
Getting Suzuki back will definitely help this Cubs lineup. He will slot into that cleanup spot and will be a massive upgrade over both Conforto and Shaw at the plate. Those two are a combined 2-for-17 with six strikeouts to begin the year.
Suzuki is coming off a career year in 2025 in which he hit .245 with 32 home runs and 103 RBI across 151 games. The Cubs have no doubt been missing his bat in the early going.