Article: Pete Crow-Armstrong is Coming Back to the Cubs, But for the Worst Possible Reason

[Matthew Trueblood]

The Chicago Cubs placed outfielder Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, after imaging revealed a fracture in his right ribcage. They're recalling top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, who will join the team in Chicago.

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

This is not the news any Cubs fan was hoping for. It didn't look like Cody Bellinger took the full force of his collision with the wall in left-center field Tuesday night, but he displayed visible discomfort for the rest of the evening and left the Cubs' 7-2 win early. After a CT scan Wednesday morning, the team confirmed a diagnosis of a fractured rib, according to manager Craig Counsell in his weekly segment on 670 The Score with Matt Spiegel and Danny Parkins.

In Bellinger's stead, the team will get another look at top outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, but this is not the circumstance under which anyone wanted that to happen, and this probably isn't the right time for it, either. Crow-Armstrong is hitting just .203/.241/.392 at Triple-A Iowa this spring, striking out nearly 30 percent of the time and taking a swing-mode approach that shows none of the refinement the team hoped he would add to his offensive game over the past offseason.

Defensively, of course, Crow-Armstrong remains a highly valuable potential asset, but it's unlikely that he's ready to hit at a competent level against the best pitchers in the world right now. Counsell said the team will continue to post the best possible lineup every day, and that Crow-Armstrong will be included when he's part of that. It's hard to imagine that he'll be in there often at all, given that premise, so this only further slows his seemingly stunted development.

Losing Bellinger is a crisis much more urgent than the stalled progress of a prospect, though. With Seiya Suzuki already sidelined, the Cubs' lineup has gone from formidable to fangless in a hurry. They now need Christopher Morel to rapidly rediscover his lost form, and/or for Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson to step up and hit the way they were previously expecting Bellinger to. It's a lot to ask; probably too much.

Crow-Armstrong was the easiest, most obvious substitute for Bellinger in the short term, but after yesterday's flurry of roster moves opened a 40-man spot, it wouldn't be a surprise if the team soon turns to David Peralta, instead. Peralta can opt out of his minor-league deal on May 1 if not called up sooner, and he's a more qualified hitter than Crow-Armstrong at this juncture. Carrying him would strain the team defensively, forcing Mike Tauchman to be the everyday center fielder and Alexander Canario to be ready to sub in defensively in either center or right almost every night, but it might be necessary, barring big and sudden strides from someone named above, or from Matt Mervis.

There are ample opportunities for a hero to emerge, here. Miguel Amaya has flashed the ability to produce like a fifth or sixth hitter. He might need to start batting there. Ian Happ hasn't yet hit his stride this April; he might need to do so. Failing any of that, though, this could be the cinderblock that breaks the back of the camel that is the Cubs' offense. They're in the danger zone, unless and until they prove otherwise. Crow-Armstrong is a wild card, but not the good kind. This team just became very dependent on its pitching and defense, and not in a good way.

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[Guest234]

Billy Hamilton would not be able to do that.