Alex Bregman Returns to Cubs Lineup Days After Fracturing Face

Getting hit in the face with a baseball usually means a liquid diet and a month of avoiding mirrors. For Alex Bregman, it apparently just means taking four days off before clocking back in for a playoff push.

According to Bob Nightengale, Bregman is officially returning to the Chicago Cubs' lineup on Friday. This comes less than a week after he took a stray foul ball to the face while standing in the on-deck circle against the Cincinnati Reds, suffering multiple facial fractures.

"Bob Nightengale reported Bregman's return to the lineup."

He avoided surgery, but his left eye was swollen shut and he told reporters his face has been numb. Most people call out of work for a mild sinus headache. Bregman is slotting in as the designated hitter and batting third for the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The Cubs desperately need him to produce. Chicago just dropped two out of three games to the Miami Marlins, stalling their late push for an NL Wild Card spot. You do not rush a guy with a broken face back into the heart of the order unless the season is on the line, and anyone looking at the National League playoff odds knows the margin for error is completely gone.

Bregman brings a .262 average, 26 home runs, and 89 RBIs to a lineup that has been sputtering at the worst possible time. He also brings a ridiculous streak of a decade straight of playoff appearances, a streak he clearly has no intention of snapping just because his cheekbone is currently in a few extra pieces.

We will see how his timing looks against Boston pitching after a few days of hitting off a machine with a bloodshot eye. If he starts mashing immediately, the Cubs might just have the spark they need to survive the wild card race, and Bregman will have secured his status as an absolute lunatic in the best way possible.