DENVER – Mike Olt sort of laughed when one of the reporters surrounding his locker mentioned the social-media reactions about Kris Bryant.
“Yeah, I don’t really check Twitter anymore,” said Olt, who had his right wrist wrapped up late Saturday night in Coors Field’s visiting clubhouse.
Bryant won’t be walking through that door Sunday morning after Olt survived a scary moment in the ninth inning of a 9-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Adam Ottavino’s 96-mph fastball drilled Olt, but the initial X-rays revealed he didn’t break his right wrist.
“I wasn’t in a good state,” Olt said. “I couldn’t feel anything. I think it was just from the shock of getting hit. But once I was walking away, I was moving it around, so I wasn’t as nervous.”
Olt is trying to make a lasting impression while Bryant serves his time at Triple-A Iowa. The third baseman of the moment absolutely crushed a Kyle Kendrick pitch in the third inning, launching it into the back of the bullpen in right-center field for his first home run this season.
Olt had once been a big-time prospect with the Texas Rangers, but getting hit by a pitch while playing winter ball led to vision/concussion issues that almost derailed his career.
“It happens,” Olt said. “It was 0-2. The last thing (Ottavino) wants to do is hit me. I’m in a much better state of mind (since that) freak accident. I learned a lot from it. So it’s not going to affect me at all. I got lucky nothing worse happened.”
MLB
Manager Joe Maddon made it sound like the Cubs wouldn’t necessarily have to make a roster move.
“We’re going to approach it as though he’s going to be sore tomorrow,” Maddon said. “I don’t know if he can play tomorrow, but it does not appear to be, initially, a break.”
Olt seemed upbeat and said “I’ll be ready to go” for Sunday’s series finale against the Rockies (4-1). “We’ll just play it by ear, though, see how (I feel) when I wake up in the morning.”