Cubs' Seiyu Suzuki to miss Opening Day following World Baseball Classic injury

[p]Suzuki, 31, strained the PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) in his right leg after sliding into second base during Japan's 8-5 loss to Venezuela in the quarter-finals. He returned to the Cubs' Spring Training camp following the loss, wearing a knee brace.[/p][embed guid="d8f61f8d-7f6f-4f10-a1d6-2107d53a744b" url="https://x.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/2032993398555132122?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The five-year designated hitter and outfielder is in the final year of his five-year, $85 million contract that he originally signed back in 2022. Suzuki has spent all five years of his MLB career with the Cubs. [/p][p]He's coming off a career season with Chicago, putting up 32 home runs and 103 RBI with a .245 batting average through a career-high 151 games. The Japanese native, who had back-to-back seasons hitting at least .280 in 2023-2024, traded contact for power as he hit over 22 home runs and 74 RBI for the first time in his career last season. [/p][p]Chicago are adding Michael Conforto to the 40-man roster, but have until Opening Day to trim their roster down to 26. [/p][p]Their 2026 season begins on March 26th against the Washington Nationals. [/p]