Cubs get brutal Tyler Austin Spring Training injury news
Cubs get brutal Tyler Austin Spring Training injury news originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Chicago Cubs will have to make do without one of their offseason signings for an extended period of time.
According to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times , Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters that first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin will be out for "months" following surgery on his patellar tendon in his right knee.
Austin, 34, signed a one-year contract with Chicago in December after a six-year stint with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Nippon Professional Baseball. He made his Major League debut in 2016 with the New York Yankees , playing parts of three seasons with the AL East club.
From 2018-19, Austin split time between the Minnesota Twins , San Francisco Giants , and Milwaukee Brewers . He compiled a .219/.292/.451 slash line with 33 home runs and a .743 OPS in 583 Major League plate appearances.
How Austin's absence affects the Cubs' roster
After connecting for 85 homers across six seasons in NPB, Austin had a more than solid chance of breaking camp on the Cubs' Opening Day roster as bench depth.
Without a solidified backup first baseman behind Michael Busch , 22-year-old Moises Ballesteros emerges as one of Chicago's top options for the role. Outfielder and recent minor league signee Michael Conforto is also a candidate to take Austin's roster spot.
Conforto, 32, is coming off the worst season of his 10-year career, hitting just .199 with 12 home runs and a strikeout percentage of 24.9 in 138 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers .
