Kris Bryant Puts His DL Stint Hilariously Into Perspective

Rest easy Cubs fans: Kris Bryant appears to be close to returning to the team. According to multiple outlets, the star third baseman will be headed to AA Tennessee today to begin a rehab assignment for his sore left shoulder that has had him on the DL for the past fourteen games. Bryant will more than likely join the Cubs in San Francisco as the team opens up a three-game set against the Giants starting tomorrow. Bryant hasn't played since June 22nd and up until that point, he had a pretty solid 2018. His overall numbers were right where they historically have been but the major concern was his power numbers. Through June 22, Bryant only hit nine home runs compared to the 16 he hit through the same date last season. It's nice to know that his left shoulder issues were the cause of that power drop and the team caught the injury when they did to avoid further damage. He was on the field again this morning taking some BP before today's game and from everything I've read, the shoulder looks much better.

This is the first time since joining the Cubs in 2015 that Bryant has gone on the disabled list and I'm blown away by the amount of fans that paint him as soft or act like he's on the DL every other week. Mind you, these are probably the same fans who called him soft after he took a 98 mph fastball to the face so I take a lot of those comments with a grain of salt but c'mon. He's been one of the few constants in the Cubs lineup and some fans have taken his consistency for granted rather than appreciate just how freakishly good he is. It's easy to take him for granted because he makes hitting a baseball look extremely easy which is the result of the endless hours he has put in throughout his career to perfecting his craft. Now that he has been forced to step away from the game that he loves for the first time in his career, it seems to have impacted him more than you may think. He recently described his shoulder rehab as 'boring' and admitted that missing time with his teammates has "refueled" some of that excitement to get back on the field. He also shared that this was the longest he's ever gone without playing baseball since he was a youngster back in Las Vegas but that "break" from baseball had nothing to do with injuries. It had to do with Mom.

It's unconfirmed to this point as to why a young Kris Bryant was grounded, but if I had to guess why, I'd go with the following:

1. He did all of his AND his brother's chores around the house.
2. He volunteered at a local food shelter without his mom's permission.
3. He donated his weekly allowance to a less fortunate classmate.

In all seriousness, it'll be good to get KB back in the Cubs lineup right before the All-Star break and get him back in the swing of things. I think it goes without saying, but Bryant's bat is a big part of the Cubs offense and for them to continue to play good baseball in the second half, he has to get back healthy and spraying the baseball all over the field. I know Cubs fans are excited to see him settle back into that two-hole in the lineup as we've become so accustomed to seeing. Well, most Cubs fans are excited to see KB back.

Please Cubs fans, don't be that guy.