Seiya Suzuki is nearing his return. The slugger is making progress on his rehab assignment, poised to ignite the Cubs' struggling offense.
The Chicago Cubs will welcome back Seiya Suzuki to the team very soon.
Suzuki has yet to make his season debut as he is recovering from a PCL sprain. The Japanese slugger injured his knee while trying to steal second base in the quarterfinal round of the World Baseball Classic last month.
The good news is that Suzuki is making significant progress from that knee injury. He is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list sometime this upcoming week and officially went on a rehab assignment with Double-A Knoxville on Friday.
Suzuki has looked solid at the plate in his first few games on his rehab assignment. He played five innings in right field and went 1-for-2 with one RBI on Friday, and then went 1-for-4 with one strikeout at DH on Saturday.
The Cubs will continue to monitor Suzuki over the next few days before making a decision on when to activate him. He should be in the Smokies’ lineup again on Sunday and could be activated from the IL as soon as Monday.
Manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Suzuki will only need about “three to seven days” on his rehab assignment with Double-A Knoxville. That means he could be back with the Cubs anywhere from Monday’s series opener with the Tampa Bay Rays to Friday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Counsell officially told reporters on Sunday that Suzuki will be back with the team on Friday.
The North Siders desperately need Suzuki back at the top of their lineup, as the offense has struggled a bit in the early going. The Cubs are averaging only 4.43 runs per game and have scored four runs or fewer in four of their seven games.
They have simply been missing a power bat in the heart of the order to start the 2026 season. Carson Kelly has batted in the cleanup spot in back-to-back games with a lefty on the mound, and Ian Happ is currently operating as the team’s No. 3 hitter.
Suzuki’s return will solve a lot of the team’s early-season offensive struggles. He will immediately slot into that No. 4 spot in the order and will be a massive boost to this Cubs lineup following a career year.
The 31-year-old hit .245 with 32 home runs, 31 doubles, 103 RBI, and five stolen bases across 151 games in 2025. Both his 32 home runs and 103 RBI were career-highs.
That’s the type of hitter the Cubs will be welcoming back to their lineup within the next week. The team hopes that Suzuki can build on last year’s breakout campaign and help carry this offense throughout the season.