Kyle Schwarber was supposed to be out for the season, but it appears that there’s a faint glimmer of hope he may yet contribute if the Chicago Cubs can make it to the World Series.
According to Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic, the Cubs are sending Schwarber to the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League on Saturday, where he will play in a competitive game for the first time since April. The goal, according to a source, is to see if Schwarber would be able to make a contribution as a designated hitter should the Cubs finish off the Los Angeles Dodgers and advance to the World Series.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs aren’t really planning on Schwarber returning, and this is more of a final step in the recovery process.
It remains to be seen how this goes. If Schwarber looks good enough, the temptation to put him on the roster will be very real given the possibility of four games in an American League park. Plus, he could pinch hit at Wrigley Field. Still, he looked out for the season pretty definitively. The fact that we’re even talking about Schwarber in the World Series, however much of a longshot it is, is something.
