MIAMI — Jorge Soler went on the disabled list on Wednesday, and — for now at least — Junior Lake is the Chicago Cubs’ starting right fielder.
Soler, who sprained his left ankle while running the bases on Monday, was rested on Tuesday. But when the injury showed no signs of improvement, the Cubs put him on the DL one day later.
Lake’s OPS went down 163 points from 2013 (.760) to 2014 (.597), but he is still just 25 years old. He still has a chance to turn his career around, and Soler’s injury offers him a golden opportunity.
On Wednesday night, Lake took advantage, belting a monster two-run homer to left. However, Lake caused both benches to empty by the way he admired his home run at the plate and then taunted the Marlins as he crossed third base.
“I think Junior has earned the right to play,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before Wednesday’s game. “But I think Mike (Baxter) has begun to swing the bat better the last couple games out, and you’ve got Matt (Szczur), too. There are different ways to look at it.
“I think Junior, based on what I saw in camp and the way he has played so far, has done a nice job.”
As for Soler, Maddon said he doesn’t like to speculate on injuries but offered the following update: “Two or three weeks — the minimum type of stay (on the disabled list), that’s what I’m hearing right now.”