Cody Bellinger Making Progress, Confident in His Ability, But … – bleachernation.com

I think about the urgency in getting Cody Bellinger back on the field for the Cubs in three different ways. Two of which Im good with. One of which I kind of hate myself for.

The two good ones are somewhat related, but distinct: you want to see Bellinger back as quickly as possible so that whatever good joojoo was working for him in this bounce-back season doesnt get lost in the form of rust or prolonged physical discomfort. And second, you want to see that version of Bellinger back as quickly as possible because the Cubs need to really turn a sharp corner here, and a good version of Bellinger would really help.

The last reason to want Bellinger back quickly the one I hate myself for even letting slip into the back of my mind is that you want him to show hes fully healthy and still productive well before the Trade Deadline. You know. Just in case.

Bellinger, who has been out since that mid-May wall catch in Houston, is making progress in his recovery from the bone bruise in his knee. He started a running progression this weekend, and Meghan Montemurro reports that those strides have been encouraging:

That said, if Bellinger cant return this week on the West Coast trip, then hes going to have been away for at least a month. At that point, its pretty hard to imagine a guy coming back WITHOUT a rehab assignment, which would allow him a little in-game action to ready himself for game speed, and also would be a final check against discomfort in the knee. This is a guy whose last two seasons were sunk, in part, because he was playing through less than 100% physical health. The worst outcome here for BOTH the Cubs and Bellinger is that he comes back at less than 100%, and proceeds to play like crap over the next couple months.

Much more on that from Patrick Mooney, and Bellingers agent Scott Boras, in this piece at The Athletic. Obviously Boras has all the incentive in the world to talk up Bellingers bounce-back this year it was all just the injuries the last two years, he says and also to be OK with Bellinger being traded at the deadline (since that would mean Bellinger couldnt receive a Qualifying Offer and wind up tied to draft pick compensation). Boras even dropped a little discussion of Brandon Nimmo, who received eight years and $162 million from the Mets this offseason, even at age 30. Bellinger will be 28 this offseason.

Anyway, none of that stuff will matter if Bellinger doesnt come back somewhat soon, and isnt clicking at the plate like he was before the knee injury.

For his part, Bellinger is confident hell be good to go.

Its definitely frustrating, Bellinger said, per The Athletic. But once I come back, I am still pretty confident that Im going to be where I was. I feel good. Im still feeling strong. Im able to do quite a bit of workouts. Its more the extension (of my knee right now). Im pretty confident that once I come back, Ill play how I want to play.

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Cody Bellinger Making Progress, Confident in His Ability, But ... - bleachernation.com