First baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin he recently underwent a cruciate ligament removal procedure on his right knee, which will sideline him for “months,” the Cubs captain said. Craig Counsell announced the team’s beat this morning (link via Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). That suggests he will be a 60-day IL member the next time Chicago needs a 40-man roster spot.
Austin, 34, has spent the past six seasons with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He originally signed with NPB after spending parts of four major league seasons with the Yankees, Twins, Giants and Brewers, where he posted a .219/.292/.451 slash with 33 homers in 583 plate appearances.
While Austin showed plenty of power in his limited MLB time, he was more prone to strikeouts, striking out 36.9% of his career plate appearances in the majors. He cut back on his hitting in Japan and has been particularly productive over the past two seasons, combining for a .299/.370/.559 slash with a 10.3% walk rate against a 19.2% strikeout rate.
Obviously, Austin doesn’t face as much competition in NPB as he would in MLB, but it’s still a very encouraging strikeout rate. Even if it could reasonably be expected to rise several points back in North American football, it is unlikely to double; Austin seems to have made clear gains in terms of contact and pitch selection.
For now, the MLB veteran’s long-delayed comeback remains on hold. The Cubs signed him to a one-year, $1.25MM contract this winter, putting him on the 40-man roster for the draft. The hope was that he could spell Michael Busch against tough lefties after Busch hit just .207/.274/.368 in lefty-to-lefty matchups this past season (and .230/.295/.366 in his career). Austin also has a lot of experience in the outfield and could occasionally appear there or at designated hitter against southpaws.
Perhaps that role will still be waiting for him once he is sufficiently recovered from this knee injury, but a firm timetable is difficult to confirm. Currently, unregistered invitees are welcome Chas McCormick, Dylan Carlson again Michael Conforto now you have a better chance to break camp and club.
The Counselor also pointed that out Jordan Wicks it was reduced by swelling of the arm, but the team has already ordered an MRI that did not show structural damage to the ulnar collateral ligament of the southpaw. It is not clear when he will enter the games.
The 26-year-old Wicks was a former first-round pick but has been demoted down the depth chart for the Cubs, who will open the season with. Edward Cabrera, Late Horton, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon again Shota Imanaga in circulation. That’s right Colin Rea is back to play a swing role and can get a first crack at starting as needed. The Cubs have them too Javier Assad again Ben Brown in the active list, while the ace Justin Steele he should be back on the mend of last year’s UCL sometime in the first few months of the season, barring setbacks.
Wicks is eighth or ninth on the rotation depth chart right now. He only pitched out of the bullpen in the majors last year (8 1/3 innings), and that role may give him a better chance to finally find the power to stay on the big league roster. He has pitched 95 major league innings over the past three seasons and owns a 5.21 earned run average with a low 18.5% strikeout rate but low walk and ball rates of 7.5% and 43% respectively. He posted a 3.55 ERA, a 26.1% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate in 71 Triple-A frames last year (16 starts, four relief appearances).
