{"id":163127,"date":"2026-03-23T13:03:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/?p=163127"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:05:16","slug":"chicago-cubs-manager-provides-update-on-two-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/chicago-cubs-manager-provides-update-on-two-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Cubs manager provides status update for two key players"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/chicagocubs\/\">Chicago Cubs<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\"> manager Craig Counsell made the news official on where outfielder Seiya Suzuki and right-hander Javier Assad will begin the season. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\"><strong>More News:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/chicago-cubs-suzuki-miss-opener-conforto-make-roster\/\"><span class=\"s1\">Chicago Cubs: Suzuki will miss Opener, Conforto to make roster<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">According to Counsell, via Marquee Sports Network, Suzuki will start the season on the injured list (knee), and Assad got optioned to Triple-A. Suzuki injured his knee while sliding into second base playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">In four World Baseball Classic games, Suzuki hit two home runs, drove in five RBI, and walked six times. In 6.2 innings (three games), the 28-year-old Assad had a 1.35 ERA and eight strikeouts. Assad had a 4.50 ERA in two games with Mexico during the World Baseball Classic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Seiya Suzuki will start the season on the IL, and Javier Assad was optioned to Triple-A, Craig Counsell announced today. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JTfCan9RQd\">pic.twitter.com\/JTfCan9RQd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WatchMarquee\/status\/2036126484230971405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"s4\">Other Chicago Cubs need to step up in Seiya Suzuki\u2019s absence <\/span><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_162553\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-162553\" style=\"width: 788px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-162553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28503139_168400517_lowres-900x600.jpg\" alt=\"Chicago Cubs, Seiya Suzuki, Shohei Ohtani\" width=\"788\" height=\"525\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-162553\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 14, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Japan center fielder Seiya Suzuki (51) exits the game after an apparent injury against Venezuela in the first inning during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Suzuki is one of the Cubs&#8217; main power hitters \u2014 smashing 32 home runs last season \u2014 which leaves a void that others need to fill. First baseman Michael Busch (34) and centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (31) were the only other 30+ home run hitters last season. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Busch and Crow-Armstrong will provide decent pop, but others will need to step up. Shortstop Dansby Swanson hit 24 home runs last season and hit nine combined between April and May. The Gold Glover also has two home runs and nine RBI this spring. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Third baseman Alex Bregman will also need to provide some pop \u2014 hitting 18 home runs last season and two this spring. Bregman had 11 home runs between April and May last year. Like Swanson, Bregman also has two home runs. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"s4\">Sadly, the Chicago Cubs didn&#8217;t have a place for Javier Assad<\/span><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_161381\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-161381\" style=\"width: 788px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-161381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-900x600.jpg\" alt=\"Javier Assad, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies\" width=\"788\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_26969698_168419782_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-161381\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aug 30, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Javier Assad (72) celebrates after a strikeout to end the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Despite him doing well, the Cubs didn&#8217;t have a place on the 26-man roster for Assad. A swing-man (both a starter and reliever), the Cubs already have right-hander Colin Rea to fill that role. Rea had a 3.10 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Assad also had no place in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/roster-resource\/depth-charts\/cubs\"><span class=\"s1\">starting rotation<\/span><\/a>. Left-handers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/chicago-cubs-matthew-boyd-returns-to-camp\/\"><span class=\"s1\">Matthew Boyd<\/span><\/a> and Shota Imanaga, and right-handers Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon will be the starting five to begin the season. Right-hander Ben Brown will also make the Opening Day roster, offering Counsell another swing-man option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Assad will likely get work in the Iowa Cubs rotation to keep him ready to start in case of an injury. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell made the news official on where outfielder Seiya Suzuki and right-hander Javier Assad will begin the season. More News: Chicago Cubs: Suzuki will miss Opener, Conforto to make roster According to Counsell, via Marquee Sports Network, Suzuki will start the season on the injured list (knee), and Assad got optioned<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":161675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6865,6864,74],"tags":[4897,7366,6491,6064],"class_list":{"0":"post-163127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs-news","8":"category-chicago-cubs-rumors","9":"category-chicagocubs","10":"tag-chicagocubs","11":"tag-craig-counsell","12":"tag-javier-assad","13":"tag-seiya-suzuki"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - 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Despite being primarily a Philadelphia Phillies fan, covering baseball as a whole has been a dream for him. Follow along as I cover the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, and Bears. 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