Cubs 2023 MLB futures odds: Seiya Suzuki could miss start of season, out of World Baseball Classic

The Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki was the betting favorite for the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year for a while early last season, but injuries ended up limiting the Japanese import to 111 games, and he didn't get a single ROY vote despite a solid campaign in which he hit .262 with 14 homers, 46 RBI, nine steals and posted a WAR of 2.0. The Cubs now may not have their starting right fielder when Opening Day rolls around in a month as Suzuki is dealing with an oblique strain that will also keep him from playing in the World Baseball Classic with Japan.

Oblique strains generally require several weeks to heal, even minor ones, and they are very easy to aggravate and cause a setback. Early reports are that Suzuki is dealing with a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Since he will have to essentially restart spring training at some point in the coming weeks, his availability for the March 30 season opener vs. Milwaukee is highly in doubt. Suzuki arrived in Cubs camp beefed up by 20 pounds of muscle after an offseason of working out and learning how much stamina is required for an MLB season.

"He worked his tail off to take care of his body," Cubs manager David Ross said. "Sometimes, things happen. There is some negativity in that, for sure. You want everybody to stay healthy. If you want to flip it to a positive, we've got a lot of games that don't matter quite yet. Hopefully — whatever the timeline is — we'll build him up in the right way to get him back on the field as soon as possible."

If you were wondering, Suzuki is +7000 to win NL MVP. SportsLine's Ariel Cohen forecast Suzuki to hit .262 with 20 homers, 69 RBIs and 11 steals this year. No individual batter season statistical props have been released by the various sportsbooks yet. Assuming Suzuki misses several weeks, the Cubs could platoon new addition Trey Mancini and Patrick Wisdom in right field to open the season.

Under normal circumstances, Mancini would ideally split time with Eric Hosmer at first base and also get at-bats as a designated hitter, but one reason the Cubs signed Mancini was his positional versatility. Wisdom is primarily a third baseman but Ross has mentioned the possibility of Wisdom getting some reps in right field. Last year, Ross gave Wisdom small-dose chances in all three outfield spots.

The Cubs have an over/under of 77.5 wins this year, are +650 to win the NL Central and are favored at +175 to finish third. Oblique injuries are fairly common in the spring: Rays ace Tyler Glasnow is expected to miss the start of the regular season because of one as well.

As for the World Baseball Classic, which starts March 8, Suzuki was on Japan's roster for the 2017 WBC and played on Japan's gold-medal team in the Tokyo Olympics. Japan is a +300 third favorite to win the WBC for the third time overall. It has reached at least the semifinals in all four Classics so far and opens March 9 at the Tokyo Dome against China. Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman will represent Puerto Rico (+1100) in the tournament. The Dominican Republic is the +200 favorite. 

So which 2023 Fantasy baseball busts, breakouts, and sleepers should you target or fade in your drafts? Visit SportsLine's Fantasy baseball cheat sheets now to get rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Joey Votto's disappointing season, and find out.