The latest updates on Seiya Suzuki’s left oblique injury are not encouraging. The Cubs right fielder came into camp with about 20 pounds of added muscle and excitement about representing Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March. Expectations for his 2023 season were high.

Now, he is sidelined for the foreseeable future and will miss the WBC.

"He worked his tail off to take care of his body," Cubs manager David Ross told reporters Monday. "Sometimes things happen. There is some negativity in that, for sure. You want everybody to stay healthy. And then, if you want to flip it to a positive, we've got a lot of games that don't matter quite yet."

As the team reported Tuesday, there is also “no immediate timetable” for his return. Opening day is still a full month from now, but it is hard to imagine Suzuki will be ready.

With that in mind, the Cubs’ outfield picture becomes a lot less clear, though it could still present some intriguing options. Before Suzuki’s injury, it was easy to imagine him in right, newcomer Cody Bellinger in center, and Ian Happ in left. Now, the Cubs will have to get creative in the short term about filling the void left by Suzuki.

One of the first options will probably be Trey Mancini. He signed with the Cubs in January on a two-year, $14 million deal. The team targeted him both because he could help Eric Hosmer at first base and because he offered some defensive versatility. Mancini played close to 250 innings in the outfield in 2022 (mostly in left field), and was a plus defender.

Using Mancini that way will force other players to move around a bit as well, especially since Hosmer will still probably be seen as a platoon option at the plate. Patrick Wisdom will become more important, but he will have to stay healthy himself.

Assuming Suzuki is not ready for Opening Day — again, probably a likely scenario — the Cubs will have a roster spot if they want to bring in someone new. There are options there, but none that are particularly intriguing. Mike Tauchman and Ben DeLuzio could both fill in, but neither is a long-term solution.

The Cubs could also opt to give more outfield looks to players like Christopher Morel. He is ultra versatile, but Morel was used mostly as an infielder in his rookie season last year. For what it’s worth, he did play one game in left and 50 games in center in 2022. As for right field, Morel has only 21 games under his belt in that spot, and all of those were in 2021 while he was still in the minors.

The picture for Suzuki’s recovery will likely get more clear in the weeks to come, and with spring training games just getting underway, there’s time for the Cubs to figure it out. They aren’t going to go out and sign someone because it’s probable that Suzuki doesn’t miss a ton of regular season time.

Suzuki, headed into his second season in the United States after signing a five-year, $85 million deal to come to the Cubs in 2022, is coming off of a injury-marked rookie season. He missed 50 games last year, mostly with a left hand injury.

Suzuki is still a name to watch for the Cubs this season, but it looks like he will get a later start on his 2023 campaign. In the meantime, Ross will have to do some plug-and-play in his absence.