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  "path": "/cubs/2026/03/30/cubs-right-fielder-seiya-suzuki-at-the-last-steps-of-recovery-from-pcl-sprain",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-30T23:29:25.121Z",
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  "textContent": "<p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs\" >Cubs</a> right fielder <b>Seiya Suzuki</b> is inching closer to a return from his PCL sprain in the World Baseball Classic.</p><p>Manager <b>Craig Counsell</b> said that Suzuki might return on the Cubs’ six-game road trip that begins Friday in Cleveland. Counsell said the next two days are critical for determining if Suzuki is ready for a rehab assignment.</p><p>“He's got to pass two more tests, and [Tuesday] will probably be the bigger day in terms of workload,” Counsell said.</p><p>Suzuki has made progress each day in his recovery. The Cubs could use Suzuki, who hit 32 homers and 103 RBIs with a .804 OPS last season, back in the lineup and in right field.</p><p>“We're at the last steps,” Counsell said. “We're at basically full speed, like quick change of directions, quick stops, things like that.”</p><p>The Cubs have been adamant about ensuring Suzuki was healthy enough to return to the field. They didn’t want him to return earlier than necessary and risk compromising himself for the rest of the season. Counsell said the club “very much wants him to be capable of playing right field when he comes back.”</p><h3><b>Cabrera’s debut</b></h3><h3></h3><p>Right-hander <b>Edward Cabrera </b>made his Cubs debut Monday night against the Angels. All-Star <b>Alex Bregman</b> garnered the most headlines after he signed his five-year, $175 million contract, but Cabrera will be just as important to a roster that lacked enough starting pitching in the National League Division Series against the Brewers.</p><p>Cabrera’s average fastball velocity (96.9 mph) was in the 87th percentile. His whiff rate of 29.4% was in the 78th percentile. He brings velocity with swing-and-miss in his arsenal that differs from the other Cubs starters who rely on ground balls and soft contact.</p><p>To compete and be a contender in the majors, you have to have a starting staff that can strike out opposing hitters. But acquiring those pitchers is either expensive or requires significant prospect capital. That the Cubs traded former top outfield prospect <b>Owen Caissie</b> indicates the expectations they have that Cabrera can help them get over the hump.</p><p>The Cubs have grown adept at maximizing a pitcher’s strengths by tinkering with their arsenals or delivery, but Counsell quelled any notion that they have to fix anything with Cabrera, who allowed a 3.53 ERA last season.</p><p>“We acquired a good pitcher,” Counsell said. “We're not trying to do much here. We're just trying to get a good pitcher healthy and make as many starts as he can make. There's not a lot of changes here.”</p><p>But Cabrera has embraced this next chapter of his career with the Cubs after spending five years with the Marlins.</p><p>“He has treated being a Cub as a real new start to his career,” Counsell said.</p><p></p><h3><b>Catcher rotation</b></h3><h3></h3><p></p><p><b>Carson Kelly</b> got the nod at catcher for the Cubs on Monday. With <b>Miguel Amaya</b> healthy, the Cubs have a formidable tandem that is both adept defensively and at the plate.</p><p></p><p>How Counsell balances playing time will be watched throughout the season. Last season was one of Kelly’s most productive. He batted .249 with 17 homers and 50 RBIs. Amaya appeared in just 28 games last season because of an oblique injury and an ankle sprain.</p><p></p><bsp-listcarousel class=\"PageListE\" data-module data-column-count=3 data-hide-authors=\"true\" data-hide-categories=\"true\" data-hide-dates=\"true\" data-hide-descriptions=\"true\" data-show-loadmore=\"true\" ><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"list-c90005\" name=\"list-c90005\"></a><div class=\"PageList-header\" > <div class=\"PageList-header-title-wrap\" > <div class=\"PageList-header-title\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs\" target=\"{borderColor=#dfdfdf, pageNumber=1, titleUrl=https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs, inverseColors=false, footerBgColor=#000000, title=Latest on the Cubs, bodyFont=font-3, showListNumbers=false, imagePositionHorizontal=null, rteBodyFont=font-3, headerBottomBorderColor=#111010, subTitle=null, pageCount=4599, stickyHeader=true, listTitleColor=#000000, tableCellBorderColor=#ccd1d5, relatedListFont=font-1, hideAuthors=true, 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_template=/image/Image.hbs}], wordCount=634}, {type=Image, category=[{items=[Cubs]}], categoryUrl=https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs, anchorId=promo-310002, _styledTemplate=null, url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/03/28/cubs-notes-dansby-swanson-looking-forward-to-future-with-nico-hoerner, imageAlignment=null, isFeatured=false, title=Cubs notebook: Dansby Swanson looking forward to future with Nico Hoerner, description=[{items=[Hoerner and Swanson are under contract to be the Cubs’ double-play combination through 2029; Ian Happ pays tribute to former teammate Jason Heyward.]}], target=null, primaryMediaType=null, media=[{ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/b5/3c/365cc6bc479a90678f0f8310324d/2268336058.jpg, width=7779, height=5187}, alt=Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson celebrate the Cubs' 10-2 win Saturday over the Nationals., 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headerBorderColor=#e9e9e9, ratingCardFont=font-1, titleTarget=null, tableCaptionColor=#626262, mobileCarousel=false, tableEvenRowsBgColor=#f9f8f3, containerTitleFont=font-2, listBorderColor=#dfdfdf, defaultArticleLeadStyle=standard, _parentFiles=[/page/list/includes/PageList-header.hbs]}\">Latest on the Cubs</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class=\"PageListE-items\"> <div class=\"PageListE-items-item\"> <div class=\"PagePromoB\"data-align-top> <div class=\"PagePromo-media\"><a class=\"Link\" aria-label=\"Shota Imanaga bitten by long ball in first start of season\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/03/29/shota-imanaga-home-runs-chicago-cubs-washington-nationals\" ><picture data-crop=\"medium-4x3\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f1924a4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4873x3262+18+0/resize/490x328!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fff%2Faf%2F8653214d4cc28dd5e47d9379b4d1%2F2268957058.jpg\"/> <source width=\"490\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b380bd0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4873x3262+18+0/resize/490x328!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fff%2Faf%2F8653214d4cc28dd5e47d9379b4d1%2F2268957058.jpg\"/> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"Washington Nationals v Chicago Cubs\" width=\"490\" height=\"328\" src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b380bd0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4873x3262+18+0/resize/490x328!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fff%2Faf%2F8653214d4cc28dd5e47d9379b4d1%2F2268957058.jpg\"> </picture> </a></div> <div class=\"PagePromoB-content\"> <div class=\"PagePromo-category\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs\" >Cubs</a> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-title\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/03/29/shota-imanaga-home-runs-chicago-cubs-washington-nationals\" >Shota Imanaga bitten by long ball in first start of season</a> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-description\">The last thing the Cubs or Imanaga wanted to see is what took place in the first inning Sunday, when the Nationals’ Joey Wiemer cranked a three-run home run into the left-field bleachers.</div> <div class=\"PagePromo-byline\"><div class=\"PagePromo-date\"> <bsp-timestamp data-timestamp=1774839671000 data-promo=\"true\"> <template data-date-tpl>[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]</template> <span data-date> </span> </bsp-timestamp><span class=\"dot\"></span></div> <div class=\"PagePromo-author\"> <span>By </span><strong><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/gordon-edes\" >Gordon Edes </a></strong> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-readingTime\"> <span class=\"dot-divider\"></span> <svg class=\"PagePromo-readingTime-icon\"> <use xlink:href=\"#icon-clock-reading\"></use> </svg> <span class=\"PagePromo-readingTime-text\"> <bsp-time-to-read data-article-word-count=\"849\"></bsp-time-to-read> read </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=\"PageListE-items-item\"> <div class=\"PagePromoB\"data-align-top> <div class=\"PagePromo-media\"><a class=\"Link\" aria-label=\"Nico Hoerner officially becomes next Cub to cash in\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/03/29/nico-hoerner-chicago-cubs-pete-crow-armstrong-alex-bregman-jed-hoyer-ian-happ-seiya-suzuki-shota-imanaga-jameson-taillon-matthew-boyd-carson-kelly\" ><picture data-crop=\"medium-4x3\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a4e6ed5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5466x3659+0+0/resize/490x328!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd0%2F85%2F1d27c4214eb3a995c3a9a9f08559%2F2268957256.jpg\"/> <source width=\"490\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f01f998/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5466x3659+0+0/resize/490x328!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd0%2F85%2F1d27c4214eb3a995c3a9a9f08559%2F2268957256.jpg\"/> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"Washington Nationals v Chicago Cubs\" width=\"490\" height=\"328\" src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f01f998/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5466x3659+0+0/resize/490x328!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd0%2F85%2F1d27c4214eb3a995c3a9a9f08559%2F2268957256.jpg\"> </picture> </a></div> <div class=\"PagePromoB-content\"> <div class=\"PagePromo-category\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs\" >Cubs</a> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-title\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/03/29/nico-hoerner-chicago-cubs-pete-crow-armstrong-alex-bregman-jed-hoyer-ian-happ-seiya-suzuki-shota-imanaga-jameson-taillon-matthew-boyd-carson-kelly\" >Nico Hoerner officially becomes next Cub to cash in</a> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-description\">So is this what the Cubs look like with the financial gloves off — big paydays for Pete Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner, preceded by the five-year, $175 million free-agent signing of third baseman Alex Bregman?</div> <div class=\"PagePromo-byline\"><div class=\"PagePromo-date\"> <bsp-timestamp data-timestamp=1774834358000 data-promo=\"true\"> <template data-date-tpl>[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]</template> <span data-date> </span> </bsp-timestamp><span class=\"dot\"></span></div> <div class=\"PagePromo-author\"> <span>By </span><strong><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/gordon-edes\" >Gordon Edes </a></strong> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-readingTime\"> <span class=\"dot-divider\"></span> <svg class=\"PagePromo-readingTime-icon\"> <use xlink:href=\"#icon-clock-reading\"></use> </svg> <span class=\"PagePromo-readingTime-text\"> <bsp-time-to-read data-article-word-count=\"634\"></bsp-time-to-read> read </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=\"PageListE-items-item\"> <div class=\"PagePromoB\"data-align-top> <div class=\"PagePromo-media\"><a class=\"Link\" aria-label=\"Cubs notebook: Dansby Swanson looking forward to future with Nico Hoerner\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/03/28/cubs-notes-dansby-swanson-looking-forward-to-future-with-nico-hoerner\" ><picture data-crop=\"medium-4x3\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e4faec8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7749x5187+15+0/resize/490x328!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb5%2F3c%2F365cc6bc479a90678f0f8310324d%2F2268336058.jpg\"/> <source width=\"490\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cc4b4f5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7749x5187+15+0/resize/490x328!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb5%2F3c%2F365cc6bc479a90678f0f8310324d%2F2268336058.jpg\"/> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson celebrate the Cubs' 10-2 win Saturday over the Nationals.\" width=\"490\" height=\"328\" src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cc4b4f5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7749x5187+15+0/resize/490x328!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb5%2F3c%2F365cc6bc479a90678f0f8310324d%2F2268336058.jpg\"> </picture> </a></div> <div class=\"PagePromoB-content\"> <div class=\"PagePromo-category\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs\" >Cubs</a> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-title\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/03/28/cubs-notes-dansby-swanson-looking-forward-to-future-with-nico-hoerner\" >Cubs notebook: Dansby Swanson looking forward to future with Nico Hoerner</a> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-description\">Hoerner and Swanson are under contract to be the Cubs’ double-play combination through 2029; Ian Happ pays tribute to former teammate Jason Heyward.</div> <div class=\"PagePromo-byline\"><div class=\"PagePromo-date\"> <bsp-timestamp data-timestamp=1774737021000 data-promo=\"true\"> <template data-date-tpl>[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]</template> <span data-date> </span> </bsp-timestamp><span class=\"dot\"></span></div> <div class=\"PagePromo-author\"> <span>By </span><strong><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/brian-sandalow\" >Brian Sandalow </a></strong> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-readingTime\"> <span class=\"dot-divider\"></span> <svg class=\"PagePromo-readingTime-icon\"> <use xlink:href=\"#icon-clock-reading\"></use> </svg> <span class=\"PagePromo-readingTime-text\"> <bsp-time-to-read data-article-word-count=\"506\"></bsp-time-to-read> read </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </bsp-listcarousel><p></p>",
  "title": "Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki 'at the last steps' of recovery from PCL sprain",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-30T23:58:05.522Z"
}