Yes, we’re going there today. We’re talking about him. Cody Bellinger, and his success so far with the Cubs.
Entering the clubs 28th game of the season, Bellinger has a slash line of .297/.371/.604. But to me, more importantly being that Stat Guy; he’s got a 1.5 bWAR, 163 OPS+, and a 156wRC+. Oh, and he’s started (and finished) in 24 of the Cubs 27 games going into today. His April is not breaking records, but he hasn’t been a slouch, either. But before we get into what he’s doing now, we have to go back and look at how he was forced into making the switch from that Dodger Blue, to the Cubbies.
After posting back-to-back poor production in Los Angeles, the front office had to make a choice. Cody, who was a ROY, Gold Glover, Silver Slugger, and 2x All Star, and league leader in games played in 2018 (all 162 of them) from the ages of 21 to 23, seemed to have been looking like he’d get the next Mookie Betts/Aaron Judge/Mike Trout extension. The “Face of the Franchise” from 2017-2019. Nobody could blame him for his hiccup of a year in 2020, right? But hitting a measly .165 in 95 Games the following year, while striking out nearly 27% of the time? Sure, sure, we’ve all heard of guys who had a bad year or two, he’d surely bounce back. But at the end of 2022, we were looking at a .210/.265/.389 slash, with an underwhelming 79 OPS+ and 83 wRC+ to go with a 1.2 bWAR (You read that right, he’s been more valuable to the Cubs in one month than in all of 2022 for the Dodgers)
Was it the bright lights of Los Angeles? Did Cody Bellinger need a “Change of Scenery” as we say so often in sports. Maybe it was the coaching staff, his shoulder injury from 2020, or Dave Roberts and front office, even the fans putting all of this weight of being the leader of the franchise and just 26 years old. But what we do know was that the Dodgers had a once rising star, now fallen from grace, who was going to cost them $18M, and that was just for the following season. So, instead of gambling, and possibly getting a third straight down year from their former star Center Fielder, the Los Angeles Dodgers non-tendered Cody Bellinger on November 18th of 2022.
As a Scott Boras client, this had to have been a tumultuous time, with both sides no doubt going back and forth about what would, or could, happen. I’m sure much to the happiness of many teams (Scott Boras reporting that his client received multi-year deals from several franchises, but Bellinger was seeking only a single year deal), the Dodgers were without one of their mega-stars. And can you blame them? Going into tonight, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for 1st with the San Diego Padres lingering only a single game back. The NL West is no longer the Dodgers, shut and closed as it seemed to be every year as of recent.
But I digress. Cody Bellinger, and the Chicago Cubs, finally came into agreement on a 1-year deal for $12.5M with a mutual option that guaranteed Bellinger an extra $5M if the option was not exercised, for a total of at least $17.5M in 2023. But, if Bellinger keeps up with his above average defense, as well as offense, and the Cubbies can get themselves into contention in the NL Central, maybe it’ll be them signing Cody Bellinger to a massive, multi-year extension, rather than the Dodgers? If anything, this new, improved Belly on a “prove it” contract, is looking good for someone who is in need of some Outfield help in Free Agency this upcoming Winter, or the Cubs could flip him for something else they need. Who knows? You never know what you’ll see each day at the field.
