The Chicago Cubs will be without their starting third baseman for at least another eight days.
Thursday morning the Cubs placed Kris Bryant on the 10-day DL with left shoulder inflammation, the team announced. The move is retroactive to July 24, so Bryant could be activated as soon as next Friday. Infielder David Bote was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
This is the second time the shoulder has sent Bryant to the disabled list this season. He originally hurt the shoulder on a slide and was out from June 22 to July 11 with what the team called shoulder inflammation. Bryant returned right before the All-Star break and recently aggravated the injury during a swing.
Overall the 26-year-old Bryant is hitting .276/.380/.474 with 11 home runs in 76 games this season. In his last 22 games, which coincides with the shoulder trouble, he is hitting only .216/.314/.375 with three home runs, however.
The injury is to Bryant's front shoulder as a right-handed hitter, his power shoulder, and there's been a significant decline in his hard contact recently. This is not a coincidence:
The good news is Bryant is not believed to have any structural damage in the shoulder. Right now it is only inflammation, so he'll rest and receive treatment, then hopefully come back good as new. Bryant did hit .286/.401/.524 in April and May, remember, so you needn't look back too far for the last time he was a MVP caliber hitter. The Cubs just have to get him healthy now so he can go back to being that player.
Chicago comes into Thursday with the National League's best record at 59-42. They have a 2 1/2 game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central and four-game cushion for a wild card spot.
