Chicago Cubs news and notes — Wiggins, Horton, Hodge, Rea, Hoerner, Hartshorn, Kelly, Alcantara

• “Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Porter Hodge to Undergo Season-Ending UCL Surgery. “The Cubs announced on Wednesday that righty reliever Porter Hodge, who has been out since spring training with what was being called a flexor strain, will undergo season-ending UCL surgery.’
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Cubs top prospect Wiggins (right elbow) placed on Minor League IL. “The 24-year-old Jaxon Wiggins was placed on the Minor League injured list due to lingering soreness, which the Cubs are hoping is just a minor issue. …… Cade Horton is set to undergo elbow surgery on Thursday and is done for the year.“
• Kyle Williams (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs’ Nico Hoerner is ‘engine that makes us go’. “‘‘He’s the engine that makes us go right now,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. Hoerner finished 2-for-6 with three RBI. For the season, he is batting .303 with an .852 OPS. His ability to deliver in big moments has stood out as the Cubs’ offense has struggled to find its footing early on.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Slugging Cubs Prospect Josiah Hartshorn Making Mockery of Low-A in Pro Debut. “Through his first 42 plate appearances, the 19-year-old is batting .367 with an absurd .524 OBP thanks to 10 walks. He’s only hit one homer so far, but he’s added a double and triple to give him a .200 ISO with a .567 slugging percentage. …… Even accounting for the small sample, it’s pretty impressive to see him doing this while facing pitchers who are roughly 17 months older on average.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Carson Kelly for 10th Man of the Year. “In December 2024, the Chicago Cubs signed a free-agent catcher relatively cheaply, to share time with a younger player they hoped would blossom into a star. They found a star, all right.”
• Zach Pressnell (Fastball on SI): 2 NL Contenders Emerging in Lucas Giolito Free Agency Sweepstakes. “The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Patrick Mooney, Dennis Lin, and Sahadev Sharma recently reported that ({$}) were showing interest in Giolito this year.“

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Food For Thought:

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Massachusetts, Chris credits both his parents for introducing him to blues, jazz, rhythm & blues and gospel music. At the early age of nine, he picked up his first guitar and discovered his passion. Chris participated in jazz workshops with Archie Shepp, attended a summer session at Berklee School of Music and studied under guitar great Tony MacAlpine. Chris can do it all. His remarkable guitar playing compliments any blues genre he covers while paying tribute to those vintage styles his forefathers cast before him. Make no mistake, Chris is establishing himself as one of the premier up and coming blues artists of this generation and has only begun to scratch the surface of what promises to be a long and prosperous career.

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Ichiro joked that former Yankees rival Mariano Rivera was the pitcher who broke the statue.

Rivera was known for breaking bats with his cutter during his professional pitching career.

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WONDERS OF USA | 80 Most Beautiful Places in the United States

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