Seiya Suzuki has been forced to withdraw from the World Baseball Classic as he deals with left oblique tightness, according to Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune.
The exact severity of the injury isn't yet known, but Montemurro says that both Suzuki and Chicago Cubs manager David Ross will meet with the media Tuesday so more should be known then.
Suzuki had been slated to play for Team Japan -- along with the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Lars Nootbaar and Masataka Yoshida -- in this year's WBC. Japan will now have to move forward without arguably their second best position player. They will begin play on March 9 against China.
Perhaps more important will be whether the oblique injury will prevent the 28-year-old from being ready for the start of the season. After signing a five-year/$85 million deal with the Cubs, Suzuki slashed .262/.336/.433 with 14 home runs, 46 RBIs, 42 walks and a .770 OPS in his rookie MLB season.
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