MESA, Ariz. — Seiya Suzuki, wearing a soft brace on his right knee, hobbled through the Chicago Cubs clubhouse to his locker Monday.
Suzuki arrived in Arizona on Sunday evening after sustaining the injury during Japan’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal loss to Venezuela at loanDepot Park in Miami on Saturday. He was examined by both the Miami Marlins’ and Japan’s team doctors before traveling to rejoin the Cubs.
Suzuki underwent an evaluation by the Cubs’ doctor, after which the team felt an MRI was necessary. He left the Cubs’ complex early Monday afternoon to get the imaging on his injured knee. The Cubs anticipate receiving the MRI results by Monday evening, though they do not anticipate providing any update on Suzuki until Tuesday morning.
“When we get information, we’ll see what happens,” manager Craig Counsell said Monday.
Counsell did not want to speculate about the potential severity of Suzuki’s injury or whether he will miss time.
“We’ll let the MRI tell us,” Counsell said.
It is not fully clear when, within the sequence of his headfirst slide into second base on the steal attempt, Suzuki sustained the knee injury. Counsell said Suzuki described the injury occurring somewhere between his last step into the slide and hitting the ground.
The Cubs must hope Suzuki, 31, avoided a worst-case scenario with his knee injury. Trying to internally replace Suzuki’s production for an extended period would be a tall task.
Last season, Suzuki slugged a career-high 32 home runs and 103 RBIs while his 31 doubles and 130 OPS+ tied for the second-best of his career despite a second-half slump. Suzuki, who is entering his final year under contract, came up in some big moments during his first MLB postseason, hitting three doubles and three home runs.