Cody Bellinger Finally Signs Free Agent Deal

February 25, 2024


Cody Bellinger, one of the top free agents still remaining, has finally put pen to paper, and signed on to return to the team that gave him a chance to redeem himself in 2023, the Chicago Cubs. And in the four-month-long 'staring match' between the Cubs and Bellinger's agent Scott Boras, you could say that Boras blinked. Big time.

It's a three-year, $80 million deal, far short of the $200 million long-term affair that Boras and Belli were said to be pushing throughout the offseason. 

MLB Network's Jon Morosi says that Bellinger has opt-outs after each of the next two seasons that would allow him to go back out on the market if he has another great year, and then he and Boras could do the four-month dance once again. 

For the Cubs, "this deal is a clear win," says Morosi, "he is both the biggest piece and likely the final piece of the offseason for the Cubs."

"In the National League Central, this is a MAJOR move... you have the Cubs bringing back their best player in a division that is certainly wide open."

After winning the NL MVP in 2019, Bellinger went into a three-year funk, until the point that the Los Angeles Dodgers simply let him go into free agency without getting anything in return after the 2022 season. Bellinger bounced back in 2023 with the Cubs, becoming Comeback Player of the Year, hitting .307 with a .356 on-base percentage, a .525 slugging, an .881 0PS along with 26 homers and 97 RBIs. 

Itt should be interesting to see what this very team-friendly deal does for the other Boras clients still holding out as spring training ramps up to full games, including Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery, and Blake Snell.

Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports



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