Kyle Schwarber isn’t medically cleared to play the outfield. Yet.

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Kyle Schwarber has been huge for the Cubs so far in the World Series. He came back after missing all but two games of the 2016 season and has hit .429/.556/.571 with two runs batted in during the Fall Classic as Chicago’s designated hitter. That’s good! There is a slight problem, though, and it’s that Schwarber hasn’t been medically cleared to play the outfield. The World Series is shifting to Wrigley Field and National League rules, meaning if Schwarber is going to start the next three games, it would have to be in the outfield.

There will be conversations with doctors on Thursday to find out if Schwarber’s knee — in which he tore the ACL and LCL in a collision with Dexter Fowler back in April — has healed enough for him to play the outfield. Even if he is medically cleared, though, you have to remember that Schwarber played the outfield about as well as you’d expect sentient ground beef to play it. His routes weren’t good, his instincts no better, and this was all before he tore his knee to shreds and missed six months. While having his bat in the lineup presents some real opportunities offensively, there is a good chance the Cubs would be making a mistake defensively by sticking him in left.

Of course, the Indians might respond to the loss of the DH by putting catcher-turned-first-baseman-turned-DH Carlos Santana in left, so it’s not as if the Cubs would be alone in this particular tightrope act. With Kyle Hendricks on the mound in Game 3 and John Lackey in Game 4, Cleveland isn’t really in a position to be giving up offense. While Game 3 features Josh Tomlin, Game 4 is very likely to be Corey Kluber for the Indians, and the Cubs, as Game 1 showed, can’t be giving up offense against him, either. So, both teams will take risks in left, and just have to hope nothing complicated is hit in that direction. Well, unless it’s hit by their gloved DHs, anyway.

• The Cubs took Game 2 thanks to their offense, as it didn’t have face the aforementioned Kluber this time around.


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• Jake Arrieta had the longest no-hit bid in the World Series in 47 years. Not that the Cubs needed that kind of pitching with five runs scored.


• This 90-year-old Cubs fan is throwing back shots of Jägermeister with a WGN anchor, and she’s your new favorite.



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