The Positive Aspects of Cody Bellinger’s New Cubs Contract
This is just what Cody Bellinger was looking for. Simply pay attention to him.
Regarding the three-year, $80 million contract Bellinger signed with Chicago earlier this week, I said during the press conference on Wednesday at the Cubs’ spring training facility in Arizona, “I assume that at the beginning of the winter, you sort of imagined what you thought the winter would look like and how things would play out.” That amount was around six years and $100 million less than what some media sources had predicted. “How closely did what actually transpire in October or November match your vision?”
Silently, Bellinger turned to face his agent, Scott Boras, who was seated to his left.
“It’s for Cody,” I said.
Bellinger kept staring at Boras until the latter spoke for his client. “There are variables when you go into these things,” he stated. “What factors are involved? The variables also have to do with teams. There are certain anomalies in the market right now. Considering that baseball income is at an all-time high, nearly eleven teams are spending less on competitiveness than they did a year ago. And when that irregularity persists, it is obviously something that—we had, I believe, fifteen contracts signed in ’22 that were for four years or more, and then the same thing in ’23.
We’ve had five international players and four American players so far this year. 16 players who played in the major leagues the year before, along with two who did not, received four or more years in 2022, 15 and two in 2023, and 6 and five in 2024, according to FanGraphs’ count.]
Upon closer inspection, certain dynamics are evident. To be fair, though, owners might want to assess and begin spring training. They might prefer to observe before taking action. However, in an attempt to remain competitive, Major League Auto has hesitated and is now running with three gears rather than four.
When asked if Bellinger had intended to sign a longer contract, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers was able to get a response.
Bellinger stated, “I believe that thought is definitely involved.” And as I mentioned earlier, I believe that’s the end objective. I thus spoke with Scott on a regular basis and [observed] what was happening. At the end of the day, I’m really happy with how everything turned out. And you’re obviously thrilled about everything and thrilled to be down here, but also rather excited about it all.
Bellinger finds himself in a situation that must be frustrating. He plays defensive at two spots and was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 2017 and the MVP in 2019 for the Dodgers. At the age of 28, he slugged.525 and hit.307 in his prove-it season with the Cubs last season. He did provide evidence for it. However, he also underwent surgery in ’20 for a dislocated right shoulder sustained from an overly zealous high five, missed two months following a collision that broke his left leg in ’21, and hit.193 over the course of two years, which caused Los Angeles to decide not to tender him after ’22. Therefore, no team had enough faith in him to offer him the ten-year, nine-figure contract he was seeking.
He declared, “As a baseball player, I trust myself to go out there every single day and do what I can to help the team win.”
This agreement, Boras claimed, is truly a win since it gives Bellinger the option to opt out every year and retest the market. He added that “nearly 15 teams” had contacted him regarding Bellinger, but he would not say if any of them had made an offer longer than three years.
Boras stated, “Cody and I decided that we’re going to look at this in a couple of ways.” There are two benefits that this technique will provide. One good thing, too: Jed Hoyer, the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, made it very evident that they wanted to a deal with Cody and include him in the group. With a lengthy contract, our dynamic was to ascertain what was on the other end. And as we went through that process, we informed Jed that we were searching for something akin to this, with this kind of structure, this kind of flexibility, and these kinds of features. Additionally, we both understood and agreed that this kind of framework suited our needs.
Bellinger announced that he had to leave the press conference to work out. He hopes to be ready for live batting practice on Thursday and to play in games shortly after that. He gave his agent a hug.
After all, he stated, “We’re doing this again next year,” Boras assured Bellinger that he would stay in contact.