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Cubs catcher Willson Contreras has been out with a hamstring injury for a month; he last played August 3.
Tonight, he’ll be back:
Maddon tells Laurence Holmes on his weekly show that Zobrist and Willson Contreras will be back tonight
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) September 3, 2019
It had been thought that Contreras would stay with Triple-A Iowa on a rehab assignment through one or two of their postseason games, or through Wednesday or Thursday. The Cubs apparently want his bat back, so that got moved up a couple of days.
Contreras was injured on this play [VIDEO].
Contreras played in three rehab games for Iowa and went 1-for-7. As always, the process in rehab assignments is more important than the results. The Cubs, who were half a game in first place on the day Willson was injured, have gone just 15-12 since then, while the Cardinals are 19-9.
It will be nice to have Contreras’ bat back in the lineup, as well as his defense behind the plate. And I would expect Ben Zobrist to get a lengthy ovation at Wrigley Field when he takes his first at-bat in Tuesday night’s game.
Welcome back, Willson and Ben. Hope you two can help the rest of the team make 2019 a special year.