\n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{ “__typename”: Markdown, “content”: This performance was closer to Bellinger’s level of play between 2017 and 2019, when he posted a .928 overall OPS while winning Rookie of the Year in National League (’17) and MVP (’19) honors with Los Angeles. His production with Chicago earned Bellinger the NL Comeback Player of the Year this year. Players’ Choice Awards.\n\n“Obviously, there’s no prediction of the future in anything,” Bellinger said at the end of the season, referring to his free agent situation. “I really enjoyed my time with this group of guys, with this coaching staff, playing for the Cubs organization. Wrigley Field was special. . “There’s nothing better than seeing a man experience it for a year and openly say he loves it.””,”type”:”text”}),”contentType”:” news”,”subHeadline”:null,”summary” :”CHICAGO — Cody Bellinger is the author of one of baseball’s best comeback stories of the 2023 season with the Cubs. Now, the star centerfielder plans to see where that takes him in free agency in the coming months.\nFriday night, the Cubs announced that Bellinger had declined his mutual option”,”tagline({\”formatString\” :\”none \”})”:null,”tags”:({“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article “},{ “__typename”: “TaxonomyTag”, “slug”: “apple-news”, “title”: Apple News, “type”: “taxonomy”}, {“__typename”: “TeamTag”, “slug” : teamid-112″,”title”:”Chicago Cubs”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:112″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,” slug “:”playerid-641355″,”title”:”Cody Bellinger”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:641355″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag ” , “slug”: “jordan-bastian”, “title”: “Jordan Bastian”, “type”: “contributor”}), “type”: “story”, “thumbnail”: “https://img. mlbstatic .com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/v1699063043/mlb/nunp71hassy8y9i2lszm”,”title”:”Cody Bellinger declines mutual option and becomes free agent”}},”Person:641355″:{ “__typename” :”Person”,”id”:641355},”Team:112″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:112}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”:”mlbglobal08, mlbcom08″, “linkInternalFilters”: “mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”: “Major League Baseball”, “lang”: “fr”} window.appId = ” /*–>*/
02:30 UTC
CHICAGO– Cody Bellinger is the author of one of baseball’s best comeback stories of the 2023 season with the Cubs. Now, the star center plans to see where that takes him in free agency in the coming months.
“We would love to bring him back. We’ll have a lot of conversations with him,” said Jed Hoyer, Cubs president of baseball operations. said at the end of the season. “Obviously this is going to last a while. »
The Cubs also declined a $5 million option for veteran right-hander Brad Boxberger on Friday, opting instead to pay an $800,000 buyout after the reliever’s injury-plagued season. In Bellinger’s case, his mutual option was worth $25 million for 2024, but the outfielder is set to land a big multi-year payday as a free agent.
The next step for the Cubs comes Monday, when teams must decide whether to extend one year eligible offer (set at $20.325 million) to eligible free agents. Expect Chicago to do this with Bellinger, ensuring the Cubs receive a draft pick as compensation in case the outfielder signs elsewhere.
From there, the Cubs will maintain contact with Bellinger’s camp while sorting out alternatives for center field and first base this offseason. Chicago will aim to build on a 2023 run in which the ballclub fell just short of the playoffs, and keeping Bellinger would undoubtedly help that process.
“We’d love to have him back,” Cubs president Tom Ricketts said on the final day of the season. “That’s something that will depend on the baseball players and the financial markets.”
Last winter, the Cubs signed Bellinger to a one-year contract worth $17.5 million following the Dodgers’ decision to without call for tender him. This came after Bellinger posted a .648 OPS during the 2020-22 seasons amid various injury-related setbacks.
This season, Bellinger thrived under the change of scenery, hitting .307 with 26 homers, 29 doubles, 97 RBIs, 95 runs, 20 steals and an .881 OPS in 130 games with Chicago. The 28-year-old missed time in midsummer with a left knee injury, but was otherwise a constant threat in the heart of the Cubs’ order as he moved between the outfield central and the first goal.
That performance was closer to Bellinger’s level of play in 2017-19, when he posted a .928 overall OPS while earning National League Rookie of the Year (’17) and MVP ( ’19) with Los Angeles. His production with Chicago earned Bellinger the NL Comeback Player of the Year this year. Players’ Choice Awards.
“Obviously, there’s no prediction of the future,” Bellinger said at the end of the season, referring to his free agent situation. “I really enjoyed my time with this group of guys, with this coaching staff, playing for the Cubs organization. Wrigley Field was special.
The Cubs are hoping Bellinger’s time in Chicago can help them in the trading process.
“You’re always trying to sell free agents what it’s like to play in Chicago,” Hoyer said. “There’s nothing better than seeing a man experience it for a year and openly say he loves it.”
