Alex Bregman avoids injured list, could return this weekend despite facial fractures

Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, who suffered multiple facial fractures on the left side when he was struck by a foul ball while in the on-deck circle during Sunday's game, will not go on the injured list and in fact could return as soon as this coming weekend in Boston, manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Tuesday.

"I think Alex is going to be fine," he said (via ESPN). "He's planning on playing."

The fluke injury occurred when Michael Busch hit a check swing foul ball Bregman's way in the fourth inning. Bregman simply did not have enough time to react given his proximity to home plate. He shared an update on social media Monday morning:

Other than pain tolerance, the biggest question is whether the swelling will subside soon enough so that Bregman can see out of his left eye. If his vision is impaired, he won't be able to play. There's pretty much no way around that. Given Counsell's comments on Tuesday, it seems like maybe the swelling reduction has made good progress.

Only six days remain in the regular season. In not placing Bregman on the injured list, it shows the Cubs are hopeful that, at a bare minimum, Bregman would be available for the Wild Card Series. Chicago is five games up on a wild-card spot and can clinch a postseason berth as early as Tuesday with a win over the Marlins or a loss by the Diamondbacks. They have been eliminated from the NL Central race.

As things stand headed into Tuesday's slate, the Cubs are lined up to face the Padres, though the NL wild-card race seeding is still up in the air.

If Bregman is unable to play in the Wild Card Series, some combination of Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramírez would likely fill in, though that certainly would be a downgrade. Instead, the Cubs would have to rely more heavily on National League MVP frontrunner Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and others.

Bregman, 32, is hitting .262/.352/.452 with 26 home runs this season. He has 19 homers in his last 61 games and has been Chicago's second-best player behind Crow-Armstrong. This is the first year of Bregman's five-year, $175 million contract with the Cubs.