Chicago Cubs outfielder/catcher Kyle Schwarber will play for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League as he continues his rehab from knee surgery with hopes of playing in the World Series if the Cubs advance there.

Schwarber hasn’t played a game since tearing his MCL and LCL in an outfield collision with teammate Dexter Fowler on April 7, the third game of the Cubs 2016 season.

Earlier today, the Cubs activated Schwarber from the 60-day disabled list and designated left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto for assignment to clear a space for Schwarber on the team’s 40-man roster to allow him to play in the Arizona Fall League.

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters ahead of tonight’s National League Championship Series game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers that “there’s a chance” that Schwarber could be added to the Cubs playoff roster and be used as a designated hitter if/when the Cubs play the Indians in Cleveland under American League rules.

While doing agility drills, Schwarber has reportedly shown gradual improvement over the last month. An exam done by Dr. Daniel Cooper on Monday confirmed that Schwarber has indeed made substantial progress.

“We got news that was better than we could have expected by any reasonable standard,” Cubs president Theo Epstein said. “Without prodding from us or request, he was cleared by Cooper after the examination to hit and run the bases. Kyle immediately called me from Dallas. I wasn’t expecting the call and told me he had been cleared and asked for a chance to do this.

“With as hard as Kyle has worked and as much as this means to him and potentially to us, we wanted to give him that opportunity after consulting with him and our medical guys talking to Dr. Cooper.”

Epstein will be closely monitoring Schwarber from Chicago tonight, reports Phil Rogers of MLB.com. The monitor in Theo Epstein’s box seats tonight will be showing fixed camera feeds of the game in-which Schwarber will play tonight in Mesa, Arizona.

The 23-year-old Schwarber blasted five homers for the Cubs last season, which makes him already the Cubs’ all-time leader in playoff home runs. He batted .246/.355/.487 with 16 homers and 43 RBIs in 69 regular season games in 2015.

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