Cubs place Byrd on DL with facial fractures

BOSTON — The main concern about Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd was on a human level.

“He's doing well,” said first baseman Carlos Pena, who visited Byrd in the hospital Saturday night just hours after Byrd was hit in the face by a pitched ball from the Red Sox' Alfredo Aceves.

“When you see an injury like that, the ball hits you in the face, you want to be as optimistic as possible. All you think about is the worst. I was obviously very fearful for his vision, for his eye and very worried about it.”

The Cubs on Sunday placed Byrd on the 15-day disabled list with multiple facial fractures. Byrd spent Saturday night in a Boston hospital but was released Sunday afternoon.

Byrd was in the locker room after Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Red Sox. The area around his eye was badly swollen, and he said eyedrops were blurring his vision.

“I couldn't see out of my left eye,” Byrd said of his initial reaction. “That's the only thing that bothered me. The pain didn't bother me. ... As long as I can see, I'm blessed. My first thought was I didn't know what was going on. My second was I didn't want to lose my sight because that's a big part of what I do. Once I got my sight back, I wanted to make sure my wife was OK. She was on the trip.”

The Cubs said Byrd would be evaluated by several specialists this week, and after that, they might know how long he'll be out of action. Byrd said it was his goal to be back “sometime this season.”

To fill the roster spot, the Cubs recalled relief pitcher Justin Berg from Class AAA Iowa. They'll likely call up an outfielder from the minor leagues this week.

Pena said Byrd's first concern was his vision. The ball hit Byrd flush in the face. He walked off the field with help from the trainer.

“You throw everything away: the team, is he going to play again? Now, you're just worrying about, ‘Is he going to be able to see?'” Pena said. “I know that's one of the things he was really upset about when he was walking off was he kept yelling, ‘I can't see out of my left eye.'”

Cubs manager Mike Quade echoed Pena's sentiments about worrying about Byrd's health first.

“To heck with baseball, I'm more concerned with the person's health and well-being after an incident like that,” Quade said. “He'll be back when he gets ready and gets healthy.

“It sounds like, given what took place, he's in as good a shape as he can be. It'll take him awhile, but he'll heal up and he'll be OK, and that's the main thing.”

Byrd is a popular figure in the clubhouse. For now, he'll be replaced by Reed Johnson in center field.

“It's tough because you watch a guy like that, and he really doesn't have to say anything as a leader,” Johnson said. “You just watch the way he plays. Guys watch his commitment to the game and how he plays the game, and guys feed off that.”

Aceves told the Boston media that he tried to contact Byrd but was unable to reach him.