Who is Kyle Schwarber’s backup?

Who is the backup to Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber now that he’s out with an injury?

On Thursday night, the Chicago Cubs suffered a brutal injury to one of their top young players.

During the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a fly ball was hit to left-center field. Cubs outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Dexter Fowler would both go back for the ball at the same time. Unfortunately, bad communication caused both players to collide with Schwarber seemingly taking the brunt of the impact. He would have to leave the game on a cart after being able to keep no pressure on his left leg.

While there is no prognosis out yet, the 2014 MLB draft pick will probably be out for a while based on what we saw.

With Schwarber now out of the lineup, someone is going to need to replace him in left field. Luckily for the Cubs, they signed one too many outfielders in the offseason by bringing back Fowler and paying Jason Heyward a truckload of money. This had put then-incumbent right fielder Jorge Soler as the odd man out.

However, the Cuban player now has a role. He entered Thursday’s game for Schwarber and will seemingly be the starting left fielder going forward. Soler isn’t the best defender for that spot, but his bat plays well and he arguably hasn’t reached his potential yet.

Don’t rule out Ben Zobrist getting reps in left field either. He was signed by the Cubs this past offseason and can play a variety of positions, including Schwarber’s. Him moving to that spot could lead to someone like Javier Baez getting playing time at second base whenever he comes back from injury.

While the injury is devastating, the Cubs have the depth to withstand Kyle Schwarber’s absence. We’ll see how they manage this going forward.

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