Cubs Reinstate Cody Bellinger from IL

The Cubs have reinstated Cody Bellinger from the 10-day injured list just in time for their series in Cincinnati. Gee, is there anything else coming up that might make his activation timely? I’m really not sure whether there’s much of a trade market for Bellinger, who is having a much more pedestrian season after busting out with a 134 wRC+ and 4.3 fWAR for the Cubs last year. His 108 wRC+ is far from horrible, but his .141 ISO is only four points removed from the career low he set during that awful 2021 campaign with the Dodgers.

In addition to the subpar production, the fact that Bellinger has player options for $27 million and $25 million over the next two seasons is surely making other teams very wary. And even though his fractured left middle finger and that issue with the cracked ribs earlier in the season aren’t precursors of future injuries, there’s reason to question whether he’s at full health. The Cubs would probably have to eat quite a bit of salary or accept a significant discount on the return if they want to move him. That’s not out of the question given their situation, but it does make the calculus a little harder to solve.

This is also a little odd because Craig Counsell made it sound like the team was in no hurry to get Bellinger back to active duty. However, his hitting has apparently been so impressive that they decided to hit fast-forward.

That still makes more sense than choosing to start Jameson Taillon against the Reds on Monday. The righty has been drawing interest from several teams, none of whom would be super stoked about having him throw the day before they acquire him. I still can’t tell whether this is just a matter of the Cubs taking a shot at spurring a wild offer at the last second, but it may just be that they’d rather keep him and will only trade him if someone lets their desperation make them stupid.

Guess we’ll find out soon enough.