What Cody Bellinger’s Return Means for the Chicago Cubs
Courtesy of ESPN (Getty Images)
Cody Bellinger’s return to the Chicago Cubs is imminent, as he made his first rehab start for the Tripe A Iowa Cubs on June 13. Bellinger was put on the injured list (IL) following a jumping catch into the wall against the Houston Astros on May 15, leaving him with a bone bruise on his left knee.
In his rehab start, Bellinger has been playing first base, due to discomfort while sprinting, making the running intensive center field not the best option to keep Bellinger healthy. On June 14, Bellinger went 1-4 with an RBI sacrifice fly to help the Iowa Cubs in their 8-1 victory against the Indianapolis Indians.
But with Bellinger making his rehab start at 1st base, what does that mean when he returns to the Cubs?
For now, it looks like Mike Tauchman will continue to play in center field. He has made some great defensive plays (maybe not as great as some of Bellinger’s catches, but Bellinger is a Gold Glove winner, so that’s to be expected), as well as putting up a .299 batting average, a .415 on-base percentage, and overall putting up great quality at-bats. Even if Bellinger were ready to play center field, it is unlikely that Tauchman would be sent back down to the minors, given how well he has been playing.
First base is another story. This has been a struggling position for the Cubs. Of qualified first basemen, the Chicago Cubs have no first baseman producing among the top 25 players offensively. Whether that be with Eric Hosmer or Trey Mancini in the beginning of the season, Hosmer was eventually designated for assignment, but the numbers have been poor with Mancini having a .237 batting average and .303 on base percentage, both of which are well below league average. And rookie Matt Mervis has also been struggling in his promotion to the big leagues with a .167 batting average and .242 on base percentage. Those numbers are a bit more forgivable, as most rookies tend to struggle when first facing major league pitching and even former Cubs star Anthony Rizzo, who many compare Mervis to, had a .141 batting average in his first season. Both Mervis and Mancini have been playing decent defensive first base, so the main issues with their spots in the lineup is due to their offensive numbers.
Right now, the Cubs are in an interesting position. They are 4.5 games out of an incredibly weak division. If the Cubs want to be able to compete and win, they will need to receive offensive production from everyone. Bellinger was that in the beginning of the season and Tauchman has been doing that now. Once Bellinger returns, he should end up getting the starts at first base with Tauchman taking over in center field for the time being. Mervis has already been taking over many of the first base starts over Mancini, but with Bellinger likely taking those over, Mervis may end up being more of a designated hitter (DH), at least for the time being. With time, Bellinger will likely transition back to center field, but with his upcoming return, hopefully within the next week, the Cubs are going to have to shake up their current lineup to make sure all their best offensive players are in, if they want to remain competitive.
