Kris Bryant Headed to SF, Likely Activated Wednesday

Kris Bryant homered in his first rehab game on Monday and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before being lifted from Tuesday afternoon’s game. The homer was nice, but this was never about the results. Bryant just needed to get his timing back after a little over two weeks on the shelf with a shoulder he banged up sliding headfirst back in May.

Joe Maddon had said Monday evening that Bryant would be in Tennessee at least through Tuesday, with the possibility of rejoining the Cubs in California mid-week. And while some pessimists might see Bryant’s abbreviated start and worry that it’s a matter of the shoulder flaring up, but Jess Bryant’s Instagram tells a different story.

Guess that answers that… pic.twitter.com/VbskZyu0Vf

— Evan Altman (@DEvanAltman) July 11, 2018

Bye, Knoxville. Hello, San Francisco. Unless KB’s wife is just trolling the hell out of everyone, I’d say the early exit was just a matter of getting the slugger on the first flight west. As long as he’s still feeling good Wednesday, you have to figure he’ll be activated and will be in the lineup against Johnny Cueto for the series finale. Bryant’s gone 4-for-7 with a walk against the junkballer, so it’s a pretty favorable matchup.

“I think there’s an opportunity he might be able to play tomorrow,” Maddon told reporters prior to Tuesday’s game. “We had hoped that it would work out this way and it looks like it’s going to.”