The final stretch of the MLB regular season is bringing more injury intrigue than drama in the standings, and the biggest names involved could shape how October looks for a few contenders.
For the Cubs, the immediate concern is Alex Bregman, who suffered a bizarre injury Sunday when a foul ball struck him in the face while he was in the on-deck circle. The issue, though, was that he had wandered out of that area and into the path of a foul off the bat of teammate Michael Busch.
Bregman was diagnosed with multiple facial fractures, though the Cubs did not place him on the injured list. He even posted a photo on Instagram showing the aftermath.
That loss matters. Chicago is basically locked into the postseason, but it is still chasing the top wild-card spot in the NL, and Bregman has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the last two months.
Since the start of August, he’s been one of only five players with at least 15 homers. The good news for the Cubs is that he appears to be moving toward a return just as they head into a crucial season-ending series against the Red Sox in Boston.
Bregman said yesterday that he planned to take the field this weekend and hoped to get a pinch-hitting chance in last night’s game, though he didn’t wind up playing. With a nor’easter also looming over Boston this weekend, the finish line could get messy fast.
Out in Los Angeles, the Dodgers got a lift with Shohei Ohtani back in the lineup after missing the past two weeks with right biceps inflammation. He was activated from the injured list yesterday and returned to his usual DH spot, going 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in a 5-1 loss to the Padres.
Even with the return, there’s still the bigger question: can he get back to the version of himself the Dodgers expected? Since the start of July, Ohtani has an .821 OPS, well below the .954 mark he posted through the end of June and the 1.025 he put up in his first two seasons with the club.
His drop at the plate lines up with the point when he was shut down from pitching because of the right biceps issue and a left knee problem. He’s back, but a repeat of last year’s postseason surge shouldn’t be assumed.
The Yankees, meanwhile, already have the AL’s top wild-card spot sewn up, which leaves one big question: when does Aaron Judge come back? Judge missed more than three months earlier this year with a stress fracture in one of his ribs, then returned only to strain a calf muscle on Sept. 16 and land back on the injured list.
Aaron Boone has been vague about the diagnosis, declining to say what grade of strain Judge was dealing with, and on Monday he said the team did not expect Judge to play in the wild-card round. Judge pushed back on that yesterday, saying he plans to play in the opening series, which starts Tuesday in the Bronx.
Boone didn’t close the door on the possibility that Judge could be cleared, so the roster release next week will tell the real story.
Boston may have a bullpen boost of its own if Garrett Crochet can get all the way back. The 2025 Cy Young runner-up has been out since late April with a shoulder injury, but he threw live batting practice for the first time on Tuesday and is expected to do it again this weekend.
If he returns, he won’t be part of the starting rotation, but the Red Sox are hoping he can at least give them another arm out of the bullpen. That could matter a lot if Boston ends up facing the Yankees in the opening round, because Crochet’s left arm would be a major weapon against New York’s many left-handed bats.
And while the injury news has been front and center, there were still a few eye-catching moments around the league last night: a young Orioles fan made a slick catch on a home run; Brett Baty delivered a pinch-hit grand slam for the Mets to put the game away against the Rangers; Josh Naylor hit a walk-off single for the Mariners against the Astros, keeping Seattle barely alive in the AL West four games behind Houston and Texas; Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana made a diving hustle play to get the out at first; and Cubs pitcher Kevin Gausman made a diving tag attempt on a runner headed to third before leaving with a shoulder injury.
In Other News...
Cubs Wild Card Rotation Suddenly Hinges On One Concerning Injury
Kevin Gausmans status has suddenly become one of the biggest questions hanging over the Cubs as they look ahead to the postseason. The right-hander hurt his left shoulder while making a defensive play against the Miami Marlins, and manager Craig Counsell confirmed the injury after the game. Gausman later said the shoulder felt weak afterward, which is hardly the kind of update a team wants to hear with October approaching.
Now the Cubs are left to wait and see how the next few days unfold. His availability for the postseason will depend on how the shoulder responds, and that puts extra attention on a rotation spot that looked a lot more settled before this setback. For a team trying to line up its pitching for a Wild Card run, the timing of the injury makes the coming monitoring period especially important. [Read more 🡒]
Former Cubs Architect Is Suddenly Back In A Front Office Spotlight
Jason McLeod, a familiar name from the Cubs rebuild years, has popped back into the front-office conversation in a way that should catch the attention of anyone who watched Chicago climb from a long-term project into a contender. Now a special assistant and vice president of baseball operations with the Arizona Diamondbacks, McLeod was mentioned in an anonymous MLB agent survey as a preferred candidate for a general manager job, with the responses grouping him alongside other executives and managers as a strong leadership fit.
For Cubs fans, it is a reminder that the people who helped shape that era are still getting noticed around the industry. There has been no confirmed move or official job opening tied to McLeod, and his future at the top of an MLB front office remains speculative for now, but the mention alone is enough to put him back on the radar in a league that is always searching for the next well-regarded operator. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Clinched October But Their Biggest Wild Card Fight Remains
The Cubs have already checked the biggest box by punching their ticket to October for the second straight season, and they did it with a 2-1 win over the Marlins that kept them firmly in the postseason picture. But even with a playoff berth secured, there is still plenty at stake over the final stretch, because Chicago is headed for the Wild Card round and remains locked in a tight race for the best possible seeding.
Midseason moves were made to steady the pitching and give this roster a better chance to survive the grind of a short series, and those decisions now look even more important. The Cubs also hold tiebreakers over the Padres and Phillies, a potentially valuable edge if the race stays this close, which means the standings around them could matter just as much as anything happening inside Wrigley over the next few days. [Read more 🡒]