Cubs reliever Yency Almonte elects to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery

Almonte had tried to rehab a minor tear in his labrum but decided against continuing on that path.

Yency Almonte chose to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery instead of attempting to further rehab a minor tear in his right labrum. The Cubs put Almonte on the 15-day injured list May 8 and moved him to the 60-day IL on June 27.

“It’s upsetting,” Almonte said. “I came in here with a positive mindset from the trade, ready to go, dominate. I feel like I threw well and was in a good place mentally. Building [new relationships], trying to fit in and be that source for young guys.”

Almonte said he won’t know his timetable for recovery until after the surgery and hasn’t been told officially when the procedure will happen.

Happ hits two 3-run home runs as the Chicago Cubs dominate the Philadelphia Phillies with a 10-2 victory

Ian Happ hit two three-run home runs, one from each side of the plate, earning a career-best six RBIs as the struggling Chicago Cubs Cubs decisively beat the top-ranked Philadelphia Phillies 10-2 to prevent a sweep on Thursday.

At the start of the season, the Cubs aimed to compete for the NL Central title but have instead found themselves at the bottom of the division. Despite this, they gave their home crowd at Wrigley Field, totaling 40,143 on July Fourth, plenty to cheer about.

“We understand how high the expectations are from our fan base and how much they deserve,” Happ commented. “They show up every day no matter what. They deserve a strong baseball team, and we believe we have the talent for that. It’s been a tough stretch, but games like today, where we score 10 runs, give us confidence to keep pushing forward.”

Chicago was trailing 2-0 when Happ hit his first home run against Cristopher Sánchez in a five-run fourth inning. He struck again batting left-handed in the fifth against Seranthony Domínguez, extending the lead to 8-2 and marking his 14th multi-homer game in his career.