ST. PETERSBURG — Alex Bregman answered any lingering questions about his vision a week after suffering multiple fractures in his left cheek, belting two no-doubt home runs in his first two at-bats Sunday at Tropicana Field against the Red Sox in only his second game back for the Chicago Cubs. The third baseman had told manager Craig Counsell he wanted to be in the lineup despite no postseason implications, seeking at-bats ahead of the playoffs.
“Alex really wants to play,” Counsell said prior to Sunday’s game. Bregman delivered in the first and third innings, crushing a first-pitch sinker and an 0-1 sweeper into the left-field stands for his 27th and 28th homers of the season. The outburst followed an 0-for-4 return in the opener of Friday’s twin bill at Fenway Park, where strong winds from a Nor’easter stifled Chicago’s offense before the neutral-site reset. “I felt like I haven’t played in a few days, but my face was fine,” Bregman said on Friday. “I saw the ball fine. So hopefully I’ll just build off those at-bats and get back to feeling how I was feeling.”
Bregman was waiting on deck on Sept. 20 in Cincinnati when he was struck in the face by a foul ball off the bat of Michael Busch, resulting in multiple fractures in his left cheek. He has served as the designated hitter in both games since returning and took ground balls during a workout at Tropicana Field on Saturday’s off-day. Counsell said the club is weighing whether to return him to third base for the National League Wild Card Series against the Padres or keep him at DH to limit exposure. “We have to make a decision there, for sure,” Counsell said. “We’ll just kind of see how he feels every day. I think he’s improving every day, but he’s got multiple face fractures, and it’s been [a week]. So we’ll just see how he feels. One thing I’m thinking about is the risk of more exposure. I think his at-bats are the most important thing that we can get. So, is that exposure worth it? Does it make us that much better at the risk of the at-bats? That’s what we have to consider. And then just the player’s health and well-being.”
The power surge reinforced Bregman’s second-half form. Entering the final game of the regular season, his 3.3 WAR via FanGraphs since the All-Star break trailed only Pete Crow-Armstrong (4.7), Fernando Tatis Jr. (3.7) and Elly De La Cruz (3.6). Prior to the injury, Bregman had hit .298 with 19 homers, 18 doubles, 53 RBIs and a 1.000 OPS in his previous 60 games, lifting his season OPS to .801 from .670. “I’m excited for the postseason. I’m looking forward to it,” Bregman said on Friday. “I feel like today was kind of, let’s get some at-bats and get back to getting in the swing of things. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t thinking anything about my face, and the only thing I was thinking about was how I normally think when I’m playing the game of baseball. And that was good. I didn’t think about it one time.”