NL Central

The Chicago Cubs received bad news about Cody Bellinger's rib injury that forced him out of Tuesday's win over the Houston Astros in the seventh inning.

Manager Craig Counsell told 670 The Score's Parkins & Spiegel Show that Bellinger will be placed on the injured list with a fractured rib.

"It's kind of unknown yet in terms of like when he'll return, but obviously, tough news," Counsell said of Bellinger's injury.

Counsell added Pete Crow-Armstrong, the No. 15 overall prospect in MLB, will be called up from Triple-A to take Bellinger's spot on the roster.

The injury occurred in the top of the fourth inning when Bellinger ran into the wall in right-center field attempting to make a catch on Yainer Díaz's RBI double.

Bellinger was able to stay in the game for two more innings, including taking an at-bat in the bottom of the fifth. He was lifted for Alexander Canario in the top of the seventh inning.

Counsell told reporters that Bellinger's X-ray came back negative, but a CT scan taken on Wednesday morning revealed the fracture.

Bellinger described the feeling in his ribs as a "very dull pain" in the locker room after the game.

"It's dull. It's a very dull pain, even now."

Cody Bellinger on his right rib contusion. pic.twitter.com/gD6z4NMUUx

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 24, 2024

Bellinger hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. The 2019 NL MVP is hitting .226/.320/.440 with five homers and 17 RBI in 97 plate appearances this season.

Crow-Armstrong is getting his second opportunity to make a strong impression in Chicago. The 22-year-old went 0-for-14 with three walks and two stolen bases in 19 plate appearances over 13 games last season.

Chicago acquired Crow-Armstrong from the New York Mets in July 2021 for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams. He was the No. 19 overall pick by the Mets in the 2020 MLB draft.

Crow-Armstrong is off to a slow start in Triple-A this season. He is hitting .203/.241/.392 with two homers, seven RBI and five stolen bases in 19 games.

Counsell didn't commit to playing Crow-Armstrong every day, saying they will "look at the matchups and figure out the best way to put together a starting nine."

The Cubs have won seven of their last 10 games and sit in second place in the NL Central with a 14-9 overall record.

As the wait continues for the Pittsburgh Pirates to give Paul Skenes his call to the big leagues, his girlfriend is at least prepared for what she's going to wear when the moment arrives.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Livvy Dunne said she is "starting to get all my merch ready" for Skenes' MLB debut.

"I have my outfits picked out," Dunne added.

Dunne, a standout gymnast on the LSU team that won its first national title over the weekend, has been spotted in the stands at Skenes' starts in the minors. She was in attendance for his Double-A debut with Altoona last season.

Even though Dunne, like everyone in Pittsburgh, is ready to see Skenes in the big leagues, there's no indication it's going to happen in the immediate future.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington recently said on 93.7 The Fan (h/t Alex Stumpf of MLB.com) that they have been "very intentional" about how they want him to ramp up his workload before bringing him up:

"One is to try to get him to an appropriate total volume for 2024 coming off last year, when he pitched a full college season and then just a little bit of pro ball. We don't want to go from zero to 100 right away. Paul's so important to us long term, so we want to be really thoughtful about that."

Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft and No. 4 overall prospect right now, is being managed very carefully by the Pirates. He's only pitching once per week at Triple-A Indianapolis and hasn't thrown more than 3.1 innings in any of his first four starts.

At 8 K's, @Pirates No. 1 prospect Paul Skenes has tied a career high for the @indyindians.

WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/6or1LHBxTe pic.twitter.com/vIJefMhrC7

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 18, 2024

The 12.2 innings Skenes has pitched this season have been extremely impressive. He has yet to allow an earned run with 27 strikeouts and five hits allowed.

For now, though, Pirates fans will have to keep a close eye on Skenes' results and hope he continues to dominate to the point it forces the front office to bring him up.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have an unexpected new addition to their roster.

Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson took batting practice at PNC Park before throwing the first pitch against the Boston Red Sox Friday afternoon.

Russell Wilson is crushing baseballs at PNC Park 💪

(via @mearshannah_)pic.twitter.com/oSyd5ADkQ8

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 19, 2024

Russell Wilson crushing baseballs in Pittsburgh 😤 pic.twitter.com/mpUIOV2Sjr

— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2024

Wilson then broke out a football and connected on a pass to Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen.

Let me know if you had this on your bingo card!!

Russell Wilson’s first Pittsburgh completion … is to … Andrew McCutchen! 🏈@SNPittsburgh pic.twitter.com/lz2AdKVSc9

— Hannah Mears (@mearshannah_) April 19, 2024

The Friday trip to PNC Park continues Wilson's ongoing tour of Pittsburgh sports. The new Steelers quarterback also attended a Penguins game last weekend.

This isn't the first time Wilson has stepped up to the plate in an MLB stadium.

After being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2007, Wilson played as a dual-sport athlete at NC State.

He was drafted into the MLB again in 2010 by the Colorado Rockies, then spent two seasons playing minor league baseball in the Rockies organization in 2010 and 2011.

Although Wilson joined the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012, his MLB rights were claimed by the Texas Rangers and later passed on to the New York Yankees.

He returned to the box to take a spring at-bat as a pinch-hitter for the Yankees in 2018.

Russell Wilson pinch-hit for Aaron Judge in today's Yankees Spring Training game

via @YESNetwork pic.twitter.com/U6W7exI0hY

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 2, 2018

Wilson may not be sticking around, but the Pirates could use some bullpen assistance coming out of a three-game sweep by the New York Mets.

After surging to the top of the NL Central with a season-opening 9-2 record, the Pirates have lost six of their last eight games heading into Friday in large part because of their closers' struggles. The Bucs suffered blown leads in all three of their losses to the Mets.

The Steelers will hope for a more consistent start to their upcoming season now that the team has bolstered its quarterback room.

Wilson may be two seasons removed from his last Pro Bowl campaign, but he boasts an affordable price tag and Super Bowl experience. The addition of the former Denver Broncos signal-caller, as well as Chicago Bears starter Justin Fields, has given the Steelers reason to hope this team is headed toward its first playoff run since 2017.

The Milwaukee Brewers will be without the services of reliever Trevor Megill while he recovers from a concussion.

Milwaukee placed Megill on the concussion list Wednesday after he fainted and hit his head in a store during a bout of food poisoning Saturday, Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters.

"He ended up fainting in a phone store … fainted, fell on the ground, hit his head," Murphy said. "When he came to, he called our people and let them know. We evaluated him the next morning, and it was a concussion."

"He's doing OK," Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold added. "We want to be cautious with those types of things, for sure."

Megill is in his second season with the Brewers. He has appeared in two games, recording three strikeouts in two innings.

The 30-year-old appeared in 31 games for the Brewers last season, making two starts. He posted a 3.63 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 52 strikeouts across 34.2 innings.

With Megill on the shelf, the Brewers recalled JB Bukauskas from Triple-A Nashville to take his place on the roster.

Bukauskas is in his first full season with the Brewers organization after spending 2023 split between Milwaukee and the Seattle Mariners. In six major league games last year, he posted a 1.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and seven strikeouts across seven innings.

Milwaukee's bullpen should be able to hold things down while Megill is sidelined. The team's bullpen is highlighted by Joel Payamps, Abner Uribe, Hoby Milner and Elvis Peguero.

The Brewers are off to a hot start, winning their first four games. They're in the middle of a series against the Minnesota Twins and will next play the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

A day after Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins slide into New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil resulted in both teams' benches clearing, Mets pitcher Yohan Ramírez threw a pitch behind Hoskins and was ejected.

Yohan Ramírez throws one behind Rhys Hoskins and gets ejected: pic.twitter.com/xsabTegXNZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 30, 2024

After the game, Hoskins gave his thoughts on the pitch, which could be perceived as intentional.

"Big leaguers don't miss by eight feet," Hoskins said, per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Todd Rosiak. "Whether or not it was on purpose, that's not for me to decide. I really don't care. But this game has had a way of policing itself for many, many, many years. So let's focus on doing it the right way if we're going to do that."

Hoskins, who finished the game going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, called the move to throw behind him "bad baseball" in a close-game situation. The Brewers won the game 7-6.

"It seems to be bad baseball on their part to put a runner on second base with less than two outs in a semi-close game and you're losing," Hoskins said. "I'll take the Brewers being in a better position to win the game every single time."

After the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza explained the pitch from his view, claiming it wasn't intentional despite how it might have seemed in the moment.

"You hate to see it. Obviously, when it first happened, I couldn't tell what the pitch was. Definitely not trying to hit him," Mendoza said. "I understand their frustration with everything that's going on, what happened yesterday and things like that. He threw behind him, and it's going to be a topic because of what happened yesterday... I know it looks really bad, but we're not trying to hit anybody here."

"I know it looks really, really bad, but we're not trying to hit anybody here."

-Carlos Mendoza

(via @SNYtv)pic.twitter.com/QDP0skOnQm

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) March 30, 2024

Whether the pitch was intentional is up for interpretation, but the first two matchups between the Brewers and Mets indicate there could be a rivalry forming this season. The Brewers won both of the first two games and will be looking to close out the series with another win on Sunday.

Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz did his press conference on Wednesday in English, a first for the Dominican infielder.

For the first time, #Reds SS Elly De La Cruz did his entire press conference in English today.

"It's important for the fans to understand me, and me understand the fans. I've put a lot of work on my English to talk with you guys.”

Elly joked that he doesn't need a translator… pic.twitter.com/3lHQyXTaQU

— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) March 27, 2024

"I think I'm doing a good job," he said, laughing.

"I practice every day, talking with the other guys," he continued, referencing his teammates, when asked how he learned English. "I just started with them, and I let it go. I like talking with the American guys because I create confidence. I don't need [translator Jorge Merlos] anymore."

When Merlos joked that he could leave, De La Cruz laughed and added, "He helped me a lot."

The whole situation impressed Cincy manager David Bell:

"It's important to the fans to understand me and me understand the fans." - @ellylacocoa18

Elly De La Cruz casually walked into his press conference today - answering every question in English. A project he spent a lot of time on in the offseason.#Reds manager David Bell… pic.twitter.com/bKJwhtf4zp

— Olivia Ray (@OliviaRayTV) March 28, 2024

"He's incredibly thoughtful. He's humble, the way he listens and learns," he said. "It's amazing. I can't relate to that. The courage that takes, and just the respect that he has. ... It's impressive."

The 22-year-old De La Cruz is the centerpiece of the Reds organization after hitting .235 with 13 homers, 44 RBI, 67 runs, 35 stolen bases and a .710 OPS in just 98 games during his rookie season. And now he can speak directly to, and with, fans in English.

MLB is reportedly tabbing a pair of National League teams to open the 2025 season across the Pacific.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, "The Chicago Cubs and [Los Angeles] Dodgers have been privately informed they have been selected to open the 2025 season in Tokyo."

Nightengale added that since the Cubs have spring training in Arizona, they would return to Arizona after their opening series against the Dodgers and "open their domestic season on the West Coast before heading home to Chicago."

Per James Neveau of NBC Sports Chicago, the Cubs previously opened the 2000 season at the Tokyo Dome in Japan with a two-game series against the New York Mets. Chicago also played abroad during the 2023 campaign, splitting a two-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals in London.

The Dodgers are coming off their two-game series against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, that opened the 2024 campaign. The two teams split the series, with Los Angeles winning 5-2 in Game 1 and San Diego taking a 15-11 victory in the finale.

While the games had early-morning start times in the United States, they reportedly were massive draws overseas:

The @MLB Seoul Series between the @Dodgers and @Padres was, not surprisingly, big on TV in Japan.

2 games averaged an estimated 17.0 million viewers, well above the prior Japan Series to open MLB season in 2019 (7.7 million).

The high before was 2012 Japan Series (8 million) pic.twitter.com/Ic9RjFvMuc

— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) March 22, 2024

A series in Tokyo between the Dodgers and Cubs would be a homecoming for some of the biggest Japanese stars in MLB. The Dodgers signed two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani and coveted pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto this winter in an acclaimed offseason haul. The Cubs added pitcher Shota Imanaga this offseason and landed outfielder Seiya Suzuki in 2022.

Fans in Japan will be pumped to welcome these star players home when the Cubs and Dodgers open the 2025 season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have stabilized the managerial position for the next several seasons.

The franchise announced Friday that it had signed manager Oliver Marmol to a two-year extension. This will keep him with the organization through the 2026 season.

We have signed Manager Oliver Marmol to a two-year contract extension through the 2026 season.#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/80ejG854bo

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 15, 2024

His contract was originally set to end following the 2024 season.

"It means a lot," Marmol said, per John Denton of MLB.com. "The fact that they were willing to make the commitment to allow me to continue to do this means a lot. Having their support and believing the way that I lead will be meaningful for years to come is special to me."

Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said that Marmol's respect within the organization made it an easy decision to extend and commit to him for the foreseeable future.

"Oli is a well-respected member of the Cardinals organization, who came up through the ranks of our player development system, and has made a nice transition to managing at the Major League level," DeWitt said in a statement, per Denton. "We are pleased to have Oli under contract for the next three seasons."

Marmol has been a coach for the franchise since 2017 and has been its manager since 2022. He has a 164-160 career record as the manager and led the team to a division title in 2022.

The 2023 season was a forgettable one for the Cardinals, as it went 71-91 and finished in last place in the NL Central. This was the franchise's first season under-.500 since 2007 and the lowest win total in a 162-game season since 1990.

Still, extending Marmol shows the confidence the organization has in him to steer the ship correctly, and the NL Central should be up for grabs in 2024.

The Milwaukee Brewers will reportedly be without one of their key pieces for the first few months of the 2024 season.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, closer Devin Williams suffered two stress fractures in his back. The injury is expected to sideline him for approximately three months, and the plan is to rehab it ahead of a potential midseason return.

Passan noted Williams visited a back specialist Wednesday. The back specialist diagnosed the injury as two stress fractures and said a full recovery is expected following six weeks of inactivity and six weeks of rehab.

There were already some question marks about Milwaukee coming into the 2024 campaign.

Manager Craig Counsell left for the division-rival Chicago Cubs, and the team also traded 2021 National League Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. The reigning National League Central champions likely would have relied on Williams a number of times to get through some of that uncertainty in the early going.

Alas, that is no longer an option.

Williams has been with the Brewers his entire career, and he has largely been excellent. He won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year during the shortened campaign and was a back-to-back All-Star during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

He posted a 1.53 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 58.2 innings last year after finishing with a 1.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 96 strikeouts in 60.2 innings in 2022.

Milwaukee will likely turn toward the combination of Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps and Abner Uribe at the backend of games with Williams sidelined as it attempts to tread water without the leader of its bullpen.

The Brewers start the regular season on March 28 against the New York Mets.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn was ejected during the team's spring training matchup with the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

Lynn explained what happened before he got tossed by umpire Angel Hernandez (via John Denton of MLB.com).

"[Hernandez] started chirping at the [Cardinals] dugout and I told him, 'They know it was a strike.' He told me, 'Let's go!' And I told him, 'I have five seconds on the pitch clock and I'll start whenever I feel like it.'"

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was also ejected. Lynn was reportedly throwing in the bullpen before he was instructed to leave the game by umpires, per Denton.

"I threw the next pitch and I was like, 'There's a strike!' And then it was 'see you later.' ... I went and got another 20 pitches in the bullpen, so I'm in a good spot," he said. "I guess I got ejected out of play, too, technically."

Prior to his exit, Lynn allowed four earned runs in two innings pitched. He was able to record two strikeouts, although he walked three batters as well.

Lynn signed with the Cardinals on Nov. 21, inking a one-year deal with the team that includes a club option for the 2025 season. It represented a return to the franchise that the 36-year-old started his career with back in 2011. Lynn was a member of the Cardinals for a few more seasons before his departure in 2017.

He developed into an All-Star in St. Louis, while his postseason heroics in 2011 helped the organization secure its 11th World Series victory. Lynn expressed his desire to recapture his former glory and help the Cardinals return to the postseason after a last-place finish in the NL Central in 2023.

"I think we can kill two birds with one stone," he said on Feb. 22, via Denton. "I know I still have the ability to pitch as well as I have over my whole career, and I also can help the Cardinals get back in the playoffs. That's all it's about for me."

While Lynn compiled an ugly 5.73 ERA in 32 starts with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, he's not far removed from his last All-Star season in 2021. With his Cardinals return getting cut short due to the ejection, he'll hope for a less eventful outing the next time he takes the mound.