Cubs Announce Unfortunate Injury Update on $85M Superstar After WBC Disaster

Just what was feared had happened with the Cubs. When Seiya Suzuki got hurt during the WBC quarterfinal, fans feared that he might miss the first leg of the regular season, and the Cubs also announced that Suzuki is unavailable for Opening Day. However, the latest update from the Cubs manager, Craig Counsell, is scarier and forces a recall of what the Angels faced with Shohei Ohtani after the 2023 WBC.

“Counsell: Seiya Suzuki (knee) will begin season on IL,” Underdog MLB shared via X.

Since Suzuki slid to steal a base in that WBC game, the knee was not looking good, but there’s no update about any serious issues. However, just as Counsell shared that Suzuki entered the Injured List, we assume that Suzuki’s knee took a heavy toll. There’s no further information available about how many days he would stay in the IL, but that couldn’t be any less than 2 weeks.

Counsell: Seiya Suzuki (knee) will begin season on IL.

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) March 23, 2026

So, the Cubs are entering the 2026 regular season without their consistent performer from last year.

Suzuki signed a 5-year, $85 million deal with the Cubs in 2022. Currently, he is in a rental before hitting free agency again. But more than how much the Cubs would lose from his deal due to his absence, it was his numbers from last year that would haunt the team more. Reportedly, last year, Suzuki had a breakout year.

He set career highs with 32 HRs and 103 RBI over 151 games, finishing with a .245 batting average and .804 OPS. Moreover, he was also named NL Player of the Week in May 2025, during which he was central to the Cubs’ offense. This year, the initial kickstart that Suzuki is known to offer to the Cubs would be missed.

This is a developing story…

The post Cubs Announce Unfortunate Injury Update on $85M Superstar After WBC Disaster appeared first on EssentiallySports.