Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo took ground balls on Saturday and appears to be on track to return to the lineup on Monday, according to a report.
Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reported, via Twitter:
Rizzo hasn’t played since Aug. 26 because of a lower back strain. A first-time All-Star in 2014, Rizzo already has set a new career high this season with 30 home runs and was hitting .278/.375/.514 in 129 games when he went down with the injury.
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He has 81 runs, 23 doubles and 71 RBI this season. Even with the lost time, Rizzo came into Saturday second in the National League in home runs, trailing only injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins, who has 37 but is likely out for the season after sustaining facial fractures and dental damage when he was hit by a pitch Thursday night.
Rizzo is fourth in the NL in OPS (.889), fifth in slugging (.514) and seven in on-base percentage (.375).
Rizzo as a sixth-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2007 out of Stoneman-Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. He was traded to the San Diego Padres in December 2010 as part of the deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez to Boston and made his big-league debut for San Diego in June 2011.
He was acquired by the Cubs in January 2012 along with right-hander Zach Cates in exchange for right-hander Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na.