The Chicago Cubs begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, and they made a flurry of moves, as seen on their latest injury report.
The Chicago Cubs haven't had the best of luck recently. While they do sit tied for third place in the NL Central as of Friday, May 19, they have gone 2-8 in their previous 10 games. Now, they begin a three-game series against the reigning National League champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Ahead of the game, the Cubs made a flurry of moves.
They reinstated second baseman Nico Hoerner from the injured list, but they placed outfielder Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list (retroactive May 16) due to a left knee contusion.
There were also other moves, such as third baseman Edwin Rios being recalled from Triple-A Iowa, pitcher Keegan Thompson being optioned to Iowa, outfielder Mike Tauchman being selected from Triple-A, and first baseman Eric Hosmer being designated for assignment months after signing with the team.
Cubs place Cody Bellinger on injured list after knee injury
Bellinger's injury took place this past Monday when colliding with the outfield wall at Minute Maid Park in Houston while making a leaping catch. He has not played in a game since but was available off the bench on Wednesday. With that and the fact that they had an off day on Thursday, there was a belief that he could be ready to play on Friday. Now, he is on the injured list.
On the year, Bellinger recorded a .271 batting average, a .337 on-base percentage, a .493 slugging percentage, a .830 OPS, seven home runs, 20 RBI, 29 runs scored, and 39 hits in 37 games.
While Bellinger is on the injured list, they get back Hoerner, who is one of their best hitters. Hoerner put up a slash line of .303/.348/.395 while recording two home runs, 19 RBI, 25 runs scored, and 46 hits in 35 games.
As for Hosmer, he had put up a .234 batting average, a .610 OPS, two home runs, seven runs scored, 14 RBI, and 22 hits in 94 at-bats (31 games).
The Cubs will look to win their first series since May 6 (vs. Miami Marlins) this weekend but will have to do so without Bellinger in the lineup.