News and Notes: Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger land on injured list

Snell is believed to have suffered a moderate strain, per NBC Sports’ Alex Pavlovic, which may cause him to miss more than the required 15 days. 

The 2018 All-Star felt discomfort in his groin following a recent bullpen session. San Francisco has two upcoming days off (Thursday, Monday) that should help the club manage its starting rotation, at least in the short term. 

Without Snell, the Giants turned to Ryan Walker as an opener, a role he served several times last season. Mitch White, a multi-inning reliever acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays last Saturday, will likely play an important role out of the bullpen moving forward. 

Once healthy, it’ll be crucial for Snell to be as close to fully stretched out as possible after remaining unsigned for most of spring training pushed his build-up into the regular season. As such, he didn’t pitch more than 4.2 innings in any of his first three outings. 

The Seattle, Wash., native spent the first five seasons of his big-league career with the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching in the 2020 World Series before an off-season blockbuster sent him to the San Diego Padres. 

Snell spent three seasons with the Padres, enjoying his top performance with the franchise in 2023 when he led the majors in ERA (2.25) and finished slightly ahead of Gerrit Cole (2.63), the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. Additionally, he posted a 3.44 FIP and a career-high 234 strikeouts over 32 starts – also a career-high. 

The idea behind signing Snell was that he and fellow off-season signee Jordan Hicks could bolster a Giants starting rotation that already featured ace Logan Webb and youngster Kyle Harrison. But so far, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. 

Chicago Cubs star Cody Bellinger is also heading to the injured list after suffering a fractured right rib during Tuesday’s contest versus the Houston Astros, manager Craig Counsell announced Wednesday afternoon on Chicago radio station 670 The Score.

The team plans to promote top prospect outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong from triple-A Iowa, with Bellinger expected to miss significant time.

Bellinger suffered the injury while crashing into the brick wall at Wrigley Field in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s 7-2 victory over the Astros.

The 28-year-old stayed in the game initially before exiting after his third at-bat in the seventh. He finished 1-for-3 with a home run and two runs batted in.

After testing free agency, Bellinger — who won Comeback Player of the Year last season — re-signed with Chicago on a three-year, $80-million contract over the off-season. His deal includes opt-outs after this season and the 2025 campaign.

The 2019 NL MVP got off to a slow start but had heated up recently, going 10-for-30 (.333) with three home runs and seven RBIs over his previous eight games. On the year, he’s hit five home runs, 17 RBIs and slashed .226/.320/.440 with a 103 wRC+ across 22 games.

Last season, Bellinger blasted 26 home runs and drove in 97 runs while posting a .307/.356/.525 slash line and a 134 wRC+, worth 4.3 fWAR in 130 games.