Suzuki return delayed as finger remains swollen

NEW YORK -- The Cubs were hoping outfielder Seiya Suzuki would be activated from the 10-day injured list this weekend against the Yankees, but he still has a significant amount of swelling in his left ring finger.

In order to calm down the injury, Suzuki will not swing a bat for at least five days, per doctor's orders, according to Chicago manager Dave Ross. The Cubs placed Suzuki on the 10-day IL between games of a doubleheader on May 30 (retroactive to May 27). He injured the finger on his left hand while sliding into second base on May 26 against the Reds.

“He really wants to play. We tried to take that into consideration," Ross said on Sunday. "He tried to work out and push it a little bit. [The injury] is still lingering a little bit. He is probably 85-90%. We all came to the conclusion that it’s not smart to have a setback with what we are trying to do. There is no real timetable. We are going to be patient with it.”

The Cubs, who have lost six straight games, are missing Suzuki's bat. Suzuki, who is in his first year in the Major Leagues after signing as a free agent on March 18, has played in 45 games and batted .245 with four home runs and 21 RBIs. He also ranks is tied for seventh on the team with a bWAR mark of 0.7.

Swinging the bat has sometimes been difficult for Suzuki, especially when he is jammed during batting practice. However, since he arrived in New York, there hasn’t been much pain.

“I wanted to play,” Suzuki said through team interpreter Toy Matsushita. “I spoke with [president of baseball operations] Jed [Hoyer] and Rossy. They were listening to my opinions on how I want to move forward. They had their take on it, as well. So we basically took the middle ground and that is just to rest these next couple of days, and I want to be out there as soon as possible.”