LOS ANGELES – The Chicago Cubs today activated outfielder Seiya Suzuki from the 10-day injured list and optioned infielder Miles Mastrobuoni to Triple-A Iowa.
Suzuki, 28, was placed on the 10-day injured list March 30 (retroactive to March 27) with a left oblique strain. In four injury rehabilitation games with Iowa, April 8-12, he batted .308 (4-for-13) with three runs, one home run, two RBI and a walk.
Suzuki in his 2022 MLB debut season with Chicago played 111 games, hitting .262 (104-for-397) with 22 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 46 RBI. His .433 slugging percentage ranked second among N.L. rookies with at least 400 plate appearances while his 38 extra-base hits were third-most among N.L. rookies. Suzuki started his major league career with a nine-game hitting streak, tied with Andy Pafko in 1943 for the longest career-opening hitting streak by a Cub and also tied Tampa Bay’s Akinori Iwamura (2007) for the longest such streak by a Japanese-born player.
The right-handed hitting Suzuki signed a five-year major league contract with the Cubs in March of 2022 following nine seasons with the Hiroshima Carp of the Japan Central League, batting a combined .315 (937-for-2,976) with 182 doubles, 16 triples, 182 home runs, 562 RBI, 82 stolen bases and a .984 OPS in 902 games. Suzuki is a five-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star, a five-time Central League Gold Glove Award winner and a six-time Best-Nine Award recipient.
Mastrobuoni, 27, has hit .200 (4-for-20) with a double, RBI, run scored and stolen base in eight games for Chicago. He was acquired from Tampa Bay, November 15 of last season, for minor league right-handed pitcher Alfredo Zárraga.
