Ben Brown

The Cubs announced today that they have selected the contract of catcher Christian Bethancourt. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow backstop Tom s Nido, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain, retroactive to July 25. To open a 40-man roster spot, right-hander Ben Brown was transferred to the…

The Cubs announced today that they have selected the contract of catcher Christian Bethancourt. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow backstop Tom s Nido, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain, retroactive to July 25. To open a 40-man roster spot, right-hander Ben Brown was transferred to the…

Nothing has changed in the recovery timeline for the 24-year-old right-hander, this was done primarily to free up a spot on the team's 40-man roster for the addition of Christian Bethancourt on Friday. Brown -- who has been sidelined since mid-June with a neck strain -- has been slowly working his way back and should be ready to return at some point in late August barring any additional setbacks.

The singing of the national anthem is a fixture before all major sporting events, including MLB's annual Home Run Derby. American country singer-songwriter Ingrid Andress sang the American anthem before the festivities kicked off in Arlington, Texas - and delivered an interesting performance that drew hilarious reactions. Uhhh... that anthem was interesting. Sung by Ingrid Andress pic.twitter.com/zsjQi84zEy Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL) July 16, 2024 Gonna be lots of bombs at the HR Derby tonight. And the first one was the Anthem. Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) July 16, 2024 That was the worst national anthem I ve ever heard. Steve Perrault (@Steve_Perrault) July 16, 2024 THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AT THE DERBY WTF WAS THAT!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/2KLnG2XChL Big Nick Turturro (@NickTurturro1) July 16, 2024 Let Jose Iglesias do it instead. Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 16, 2024 The only 0-for tonight should be Ingrid Andress. Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) July 16, 2024 Many fans were quick to compare it to Fergie's infamous performance at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. That anthem pic.twitter.com/9BLT0abUkf Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 16, 2024 She might have gotten Fergie off the hook. https://t.co/YkDP6HIUA7 Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) July 16, 2024 Phillies third baseman and Derby participant Alec Bohm was caught on camera attempting to hold back a smile. Alec Bohm pic.twitter.com/CGFuDVVZc7 CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 16, 2024 Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Be sure to follow along with us live when the Home Run Derby gets going at 8 p.m. ET.Almost ready to goBut first we stand for the national anthem, and ... uh ... Uhhh... that anthem was interesting. Sung by Ingrid Andress pic.twitter.com/zsjQi84zEy Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL) July 16, 2024 Alec Bohm pic.twitter.com/CGFuDVVZc7 CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 16, 2024 Gonna be lots of bombs at the HR Derby tonight. And the first one was the Anthem. Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) July 16, 2024 Zoinks! - Gunnar's ready for dingers Gunnar Henderson's going all out for his first derby. The Orioles shortstop unveiled a custom Scooby-Doo bat that he'll use during the event. Zoinks! Gunnar Henderson has a custom Scooby Doo bat for the #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/MLVbjIEPI8 MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2024 MLB introduces new formatWho's ready for dingers?Major League Baseball's 2024 All-Star festivities get going Monday with the Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The loaded field will take part in a newly-tweaked format that's a hybrid of old and new, with "outs" being reintroduced to the contest.The first round will see the eight sluggers compete against each other, with the top four totals advancing to the semifinals. Ties in Round 1 will be broken by the longest home-run distance. For the semifinals, the last four standing will be placed in a bracket based on first-round totals, with the No. 1 seed facing No. 4 and No. 2 hitting against No. 3.Each player gets three minutes or 40 pitches - whichever comes first - at the plate in the first two rounds and two minutes or 27 pitches in the final. Revamped bonus time rules allow players to get unlimited bonus pitches until they've recorded three outs within that period. If a home run is hit at least 425 feet during the bonus time, the player is awarded a fourth out. Finally, each player gets one 45-second timeout in each round, though the timeout can't be used during bonus time.Got all that? Good. Now, here's the 2024 Home Run Derby field, with updated odds courtesy theScore Bet. Pete Alonso is the favorite to win his third career Derby, which would tie Ken Griffey Jr.'s all-time record. Player Team 2024 HRs Odds Pete Alonso Mets 19 +275 Gunnar Henderson Orioles 28 +350 Marcell Ozuna Braves 26 +425 Bobby Witt Jr. Royals 16 +450 Adolis Garc a Rangers 17 +550 Teoscar Hern ndez Dodgers 19 +800 Alec Bohm Phillies 11 +1000 Jos Ram rez Guardians 23 +1000 Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.