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The Chicago Cubs activated former NL MVP Cody Bellinger on Thursday, according to the team. Bellinger moved to the 10-day IL for a knee injury on May 19th and hasn't played since. He will rejoin the team tonight as the Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Earlier this week, Bellinger played two rehab games for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.
The Cubs rolled the dice by signing Bellinger through free agency this past offseason, but it has paid off nicely. The Los Angeles Dodgers decided to move on from Bellinger after six seasons, and he signed with the Cubs in December on a one-year deal for $17.5 million.
Since hitting .305 with 47 home runs in his MVP season, Bellinger has been clueless at the plate. He hit .165 through 95 games 2021 and hit .210 with 19 homers in 2022, unable to find a rhythm despite playing the full season.
This year, however, he's giving the Cubs some quality production offensively, slashing .271/.337/.493/.830 with a +123 OPS+.
The Cubs had a decent start to the year but currently sit fourth in their division at 30-37. The NL Central is a relatively tight race, however, and Chicago is still well within striking distance of first place, only 4.5 games back from the Pirates.
The Cubs and Pirates play on Friday in Chicago and Bellinger will try to help the team close out a three-game sweep upon his return. These two teams meet again to kick off another three-game series on Monday.
Bellinger's return comes at a critical time, as the Cubs have a big opportunity to vault to the top of the division before the All-Star break. Chicago has 22 games left before the mid-summer classic, and 10 of those are against divisional opponents.
