Alex Bregman doesn't look like a guy ready to play a Cubs Wild Card series game

Chicago Cubs fans around the country breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday, when manager Craig Counsell sure made it sound like the team didn't expect Alex Bregman's ugly facial fracture to keep him out of the team's postseason lineup. In fact, Counsell went as far as to say the third baseman could be back in Chicago's lineup as early as this weekend.

Just 24 hours later, though ... well, let's just say we have our doubts. Wednesday afternoon brought an interview with the man himself, and while Bregman is grinning and bearing it as best he can, it's hard not to read between the lines here and wonder how exactly he'll be ready to play playoff baseball in a matter of days.

Bregman spoke to ESPN's Jesse Rogers prior to the Cubs' game against Miami, describing the fracture as "something by the nerve of my face" — adding that, as the swelling goes down, the actual fractures have become more and more painful. He did say that the pain was "fine," but, well, that's exactly what you'd expect someone of Bregman's track record to say. In reality, you need to see pretty well to hit a baseball, and even if Bregman does insist on toughing it out in October, you have to wonder what version of him Chicago will be getting.

Cubs fans probably shouldn't get their hopes up after Alex Bregman's latest injury update

From the "never a thing you want to hear an athlete say" department, Bregman also told Rogers that fluid build-up in his face is affecting him.

In a word: yikes. Again, Bregman is as tough a player as there is in the league, and he'll no doubt do everything in his power to be in the lineup when the Cubs kick off their Wild Card series (opponent TBD) next Tuesday. And to be sure, his face already visually looks a whole lot better than it did just 48 hours or so ago; give it another few days, and the swelling and bruising should subside even more.

All of which fails to reckon with the fact that Bregman has a broken bone in his face. Not just in his face, but awfully close to his left eye, the one closest to the pitcher as he steps in the box as a right-handed hitter. Less swelling is still some swelling, and there's still the pain — and, apparently, the fluids — to worry about. It seems almost unfair to expect Bregman to hit at anything like his usual level if he's having a hard time focusing on the baseball, and that should have the Cubs thinking long and hard about whether he belongs in the lineup.

Projected Cubs lineup if Alex Bregman misses Wild Card series

Of course, it's easy for me to say, and much tougher for Craig Counsell to actually execute. Not only is Bregman a veteran leader with a great deal of latitude, but his absence would leave a notable hole in the Cubs lineup.

Pedro Ramirez and Matt Shaw are both exciting, versatile young players, but installing them as an every-day third baseman for a playoff series feels like asking a lot. Both are just league-average hitters, and because of Bregman's iron-man tendencies, neither has a ton of third-base experience this year (though Shaw played there a bunch last season).

Chicago does have plenty of firepower around them, in the form of pending NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch and others. But Bregman has been scorching hot for pretty much the entire second half, and losing his bat would be a devastating blow to a lineup that would suddenly start to look pretty top-heavy — especially with Dansby Swanson just making his way back from an oblique injury.

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