Cubs left fielder and leadoff man Alfonso Soriano will miss at least six weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand during Wednesday night’s game against the Braves.
The injury occurred in the second inning of the Cubs’ 7-2 win at Wrigley Field when Soriano was hit in the hand by a pitch from Braves starter Jeff Bennett. After hitting his hand, the ball ricocheted up and struck Soriano in the face.
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, x-rays revealed that Soriano had a “minimally displaced fracture of the left fourth metacarpal, located just under the fourth finger on his left hand.”
The report also said that Soriano’s hand will be in a splint for three weeks.
After the game, the Cubs called up outfielder Micah Hoffpauir from Triple-A Iowa.
With Soriano unavailable, expect to see Hoffpauir, Reed Johnson, Jim Edmonds platoon in left and center fields, with Koskue Fukudome maintaining his post in right. To add more depth, the Cubs could use second baseman Mark DeRosa in left field occasionally. DeRosa played that position earlier this season when Soriano was on the disabled list due to a strained calf.
If the Cubs are looking to add even more depth, they could call up Matt Murton from Triple-A Iowa. In 2006, Murton played in 144 games for the Cubs, mostly in left field. The Cubs could also consider mixing up the entire outfield by shifting Fukudome to center, a position he played in Japan.
It’s unclear that the impact of Soriano’s injury will be. Soriano got off to a slow start, but was returning to his old self as of late. Going into Wednesday’s game, Soriano was hitting .283 with 15 HR, 40 RBI and a .332 on-base percentage.
When Soriano was on the 15-day disabled list earlier this season due to the calf injury, the Cubs were 9-5 and averaged more than seven runs per game in his absence.
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