Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger struggles to catch a fly ball from Houston Astros’ Yainer Diaz as it bounces off the ivy during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Chicago.
Erin Hooley/AP
Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger sustained fractures in two ribs on his right side, manager Craig Counsell revealed Wednesday.
Bellinger will be going on the 10-day injured list, and in a corresponding move, the team is recalling top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Bellinger hurt his ribs jumping into the brick outfield wall Tuesday in the Cubs’ 7-2 win against the Astros at Wrigley Field. He was chasing down a deep fly by Yainer Diaz in the fourth inning, but the ball hit the wall as he was trying to corral it.
Bellinger stayed in the game, eventually exiting before the top of the seventh inning.
“Honestly didn’t feel much at first,” he said after the game. “And then as the innings went on, started to get a little more uncomfortable. It was nothing serious. It’s dull. It’s very dull pain even now, which is a good sign.”
His X-rays came back negative that night, and Counsell said Bellinger was even optimistic about how he felt waking up Wednesday morning.
“‘I think I kind of dodged something,’ were his words, actually,” Counsell said.
A CT scan on Wednesday, however, revealed the fractures.