Kris Bryant injury update: X-rays negative

After injuring a finger on his left hand, Cubs star Kris Bryant appears to have evaded what appeared to be a serious injury.

Kris Bryant was attempting to steal third base against the Atlanta Braves, and he appeared to be in serious pain holding his pinky finger after he was called out. Fortunately for him and the Cubs, X-rays came back negative, and he was diagnosed with a sprained pinky.

This is tremendous news, as the injury looked far more severe at first glance. It’s more than likely that more tests will be given to Bryant’s finger to determine a timetable if he is to miss any time from it. For now though, the team is considering him day to day.

Mark Gonzales, the Cubs beat writer for the Chicago Tribune, was the first to report on the update. Then the team confirmed the news shortly after. Tommy La Stella promptly replaced Bryant to man the hot corner, and he will presumably receive more starts there in Bryant’s place until he is deemed able to return. La Stella certainly isn’t the player Bryant is, but he has been fairly successful when he has received playing time with the Cubs thus far.

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Chicago could also play Javier Baez at third base, and slot either Ben Zobrist, or rookie Ian Happ back at second base. Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon can be very creative with his lineup choices, and seems poised to handle anything that comes his way. Although it has only been a small sample size since the second half of the season began, the Cubs have looked like the Cubs again.

They are still the favorites to come out on top of the NL Central division, but they will surely need Bryant if they hope to make another run at a World Series title again.