PHOENIX, Arizona (ESPN) – Chicago Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber has full tears to the ACL and LCL in his left knee and will be out for the rest of the season, the team said Friday.
An MRI revealed the extent of the knee injury for Schwarber, one of several heralded young stars for the World Series-favorite Cubs.
Schwarber also sustained a severely sprained ankle in a scary collision with center fielder Dexter Fowler in Thursday night’s 14-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Munenori Kawasaki will take Schwarber’s roster spot with Jorge Soler starting in left field Friday at Arizona.
Anthony Rizzo matched his career high with six RBIs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 14-6 on Thursday.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon had said Soler and Tommy La Stella would see time in Schwarber’s place, with third baseman Kris Bryant another option. The Cubs also have Matt Szczur to insert into the outfield rotation.
Fowler made contact with Schwarber’s legs as the two chased a line drive off the bat of Jean Segura in left-center during the second inning.
Schwarber said Thursday night that both the ankle and knee felt “tight” and “sore,” but he was hopeful that the MRI wouldn’t show further damage.
“Can’t get mad about playing hard and getting hurt,” Schwarber said. “Would rather play hard and get hurt than not play hard and not get hurt.”
After colliding with Fowler, Schwarber rolled around on the warning track before athletic trainers attended to him. The second-year player remained down for several minutes before getting to his feet with the assistance of the trainers and limping to a cart, which took him off the field.
“It had bad things written all over it,” Maddon said after the game. “The guy hits the ball in the one spot that we can’t cover. … I’d just rather see the ball go over the fence right there. We’d have been fine.”
Schwarber was the fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft. He hit .246 with 16 home runs and 43 RBIs in 69 games last year. He is the team’s backup catcher and was scheduled to get his first start behind the plate Friday.