NEW YORK — Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki took batting practice on the field Wednesday for the first time in his rehab.
“I feel like I’m 80% ready to get back on the field,” Suzuki said.
He has been on the injured list with strained left oblique for a little over two weeks. The next step will be to get minor-league at-bats on a rehab assignment.
“Hopefully that’s in the fairly near future,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said, “but just not imminent.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if Suzuki began a rehab assignment next week.
“There is a tentative schedule that was given to us,” Suzuki said, “but you’ve got to look at reality and see how your situation is exactly every day. . . . I’m going to do whatever I can to take the right steps to be back out there as soon as possible.”
Suzuki was batting .305 with three home runs in 15 games before he landed on the injured list. It was a continuation of his hot stretch in the last two months of the 2023 season, which can be traced back to Citi Field.
He returned to the lineup on Aug. 9, the last game of the series, after getting a four-day break from starting. Suzuki went 3-for-4.
“I have a small brain, so everything that has a negative influence is completely out of my head,” he joked. “So I don’t remember at all.”
Kyle Hendricks to Double-A Tennessee
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (strained lower back) headed out on a rehab assignment. He is scheduled to pitch for Double-A Tennessee on Thursday and is targeting 75 to 80 pitches.
“No issues with the back; that’s number one,” manager Craig Counsell said of what the team is looking for. “Then we’ve got to go from there.”
Hendricks also will use his time on rehab assignment to address some of the issues that have plagued him in his first five starts. The Cubs can monitor his execution and the quality of contact against him.
Justin Steele nearing return to majors
Left-hander Justin Steele (strained left hamstring) threw 63 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, allowing three runs in 3⅓ innings.
“Everything went well,” Counsell said. “Came out of it healthy. So all good news.”
Steele is scheduled to work out in Iowa on Thursday, then meet the big-league team in Chicago on Friday.
Counsell previously had said it was “possible” that Steele would make his next start in the majors. But he was coy Wednesday, saying the team would decide next steps “when it’s necessary to decide.”
Said Hoyer: “Just excited he’s now thrown twice and has felt good, and, obviously, I think all of us want him back and pitching up here.”
Jordan Wicks playing catch
Lefty Jordan Wicks (strained left forearm) has been playing catch. He began a throwing program Tuesday. The progress, days after the Cubs put him on the injured list, bodes well for his recovery timeline.
There’s continued optimism in the organization that it could be close to a minimum stint.