Kyle Schwarber has turned into one of the most important hitters for the Cubs, but manager Joe Maddon won't be writing the rookie's name on the lineup card for a few days.
Schwarber will sit out the next three-to-five days with a strained right rib cage suffered on a check swing during warm-ups in the batting cage prior to Wednesday afternoon's game. He was taken out of the lineup that day and went for an MRI.
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Schwarber will not play at all this weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field, with new acquisition Austin Jackson instead in the lineup Friday afternoon, playing right field (and pushing Chris Coghlan to left) and hitting second.
"We'll just wait a couple days to let it cool down and try to figure out exactly where it's taking us," Maddon said. "We're gonna just chill a little bit right now, figure it out and move on from there.
"You just have to permit it to calm down. Once it calms down, you get a better read and then you take it from there. The big thing was that Schwarbs shut it down immediately when he felt something.
"We don't feel like it's very severe. It's so hard to judge. You just don't know. You just gotta let it play out and hope for the best right now."
MLB
Schwarber is an ex-linebacker and carries that football mentality to the baseball diamond. He said his rib cage doesn't hurt when he breathes or moves or even if he were to swing right now.
He admitted it's killing him to be missing games right now, but he also understands the importance of getting back to full health.
"Nothing to rush," Schwarber said. "Don't want to hurt the team in any way possible if I get re-injured, but I'll try to get back as soon as I can.
"It is hard. You want to go out there and help this team win. We're in a playoff race right now. It is a little bit frustrating, but that's part of the game.
"You have to let your body heal and make sure you're 100 percent. If you're not 100 percent, you're hurting the team."
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He said his goal is to get back for the big series with the Cardinals in St. Louis that begins Monday afternoon.
In the meantime, Schwarber said he's going to turn into the Cubs' biggest cheerleader, focusing on being a good teammate in the dugout until he can get back on the field.
But if this were the playoffs, would Schwarber be in the lineup?
"Definitely."