Regarding the former MVP’s return to Chicago on a deal that was well below expectations, Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras, are expressing (if not thinking) all the right things.
This is just what Cody Bellinger was looking for. Simply pay attention to him.
Regarding the three-year, $80 million contract Cody 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 transpired in October or November match your vision?”
Silently, Cody Bellinger turned to face his agent 6, who was seated to his left.
“It’s for Cody,” I said.
Cody 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 clubs are spending less on competitiveness than they were a year ago. And when that irregularity persists, it is 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 thus far this year. 16 players who played in the big 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, some 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, the Major League car has exhibited hesitancy, using three gears rather than four to remain competitive.
When Jesse Rogers of ESPN asked Cody Bellinger if he had wanted to sign a longer contract, Bellinger did respond.
Cody Bellinger stated, “I believe that thought is involved.” And as I mentioned earlier, I believe that’s the end objective. I so spoke with Scott regularly and observed, what was happening. At the end of the day, I’m really happy with how everything turned out. And you’re thrilled about everything and thrilled to be down here, but also rather enthusiastic about it all.
Bellinger finds himself in a situation that must be difficult. 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 after an overly zealous high five, lost two months following a collision that broke his left leg in ’21, and hit 193 over 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 remarked, “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 Cody 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 did come out of it, too: Jed Hoyer, the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, made it very evident that the franchise wanted to sign Cody and bring him into the fold. 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 sorts of features.
We both understood and agreed upon the fact that this kind of arrangement suited us both.
Cody 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 hugged his agent.
Scott Boras assured Cody Bellinger he would get back to her. He did say, “We’re doing this again next year,” after all.
