Joe Maddon has concerning quote about Kris Bryant’s health

Chicago Cubs slugger Kris Bryant continues to be hampered by a left shoulder injury, and manager Joe Maddon isn’t sounding very reassuring.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Maddon offered a fairly concerning quote about Bryant’s health.

“Rest would be the best thing for him now, but we’re not necessarily ready to do that,” said Maddon, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. “For right now, it’s trying to manage it and get him through the season.”

The righty-hitting Bryant, who was held out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against Arizona, missed nearly three weeks with nagging pain in the shoulder before the All-Star break. While he did play in the Cubs’ first six games of the second half, he still does not appear to be over the issue.

Bryant still has a fairly strong slash line of .276/.380/.474 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 76 games. But Cubs fans likely don’t want to hear any references to “getting him through the season,” especially since the usually durable former NL MVP sounded upbeat about his health just a couple of weeks ago.