The Chicago Cubs were dealt a serious blow to their promising 2024 season Wednesday, when it was revealed that center fielder Cody Bellinger has a fractured rib. The former National League Most Valuable Player collided with the ivy-laden brick wall at Wrigley Field in the fourth inning Tuesday, and was removed in the seventh inning. He finished the day 1-for-3 with a home run.
Bellinger will go to the injured list and be replaced on the active roster by outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong. The expected duration of Bellinger’s absence has yet to be revealed.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced the diagnosis Wednesday in an interview with 670-AM in Chicago.
“These things happen,” Counsell said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show. “You just process it and move on and move to the next thing you got to do. This is just a freak injury. There’s no reason to feel snakebit. You just move on.”
Bellinger is hitting .226 with five homers, 17 RBIs and a .760 on-base plus slugging percentage in 22 games this season. He was the Cubs’ best hitter in 2023 en route to winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year award.
Bellinger, 28, finished last season with a career-high .307 batting average, 26 home runs and 97 RBIs, winning a Silver Slugger award and collecting down-ballot MVP votes.
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Although Bellinger’s offensive numbers were somewhat depressed to start the new season, he was one of many Scott Boras clients who were late to arrive in spring training and found themselves getting off to a slow start in 2024. Last week he stood behind Boras, who was recently fired by another client, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jordan Montgomery.
Bellinger had also been on a bit of a tear through Tuesday’s game against the Houston Astros. The 28-year-old awoke Wednesday riding an eight-game hitting streak during which he batted .333 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
The Cubs, meanwhile, were off to a 14-9 start — good for second place in the National League Central behind the surprising Milwaukee Brewers.
Crow-Armstrong, 22, made his major league debut last season but did not collect a hit in 14 at-bats. The 19th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Crow-Armstrong was a consensus top-30 prospect in MLB each of the last two years.
The Cubs acquired Crow-Armstrong in a July 2021 trade with the New York Mets for infielder Javier Baez, pitcher Trevor Williams, and cash.
In 19 games at Triple-A Iowa, Crow-Armstrong was hitting .203 with two home runs and seven RBIs to begin the season. Last year he hit .271 with an .829 OPS in 34 games with Iowa following a midseason promotion.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.