Cubs Owner Comments On The Pursuit Of Cody Bellinger

In this MLB free-agent market, those who pounced on offers in November and December got a considerable amount of money.

Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sonny Gray, Jung-Hoo Lee, and several others got paid handsomely.

Those who decided to wait until January, like Marcus Stroman, got good money, but were considered a bargain signing.

And of course we have those who haven’t signed to this point, the ones who were never happy with the offers made to them and are still holding out hope to get what they want even though most teams have already spent most of their budget and spring training is underway.

Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bellinger, J.D. Martinez, and others are in that last group.

With many teams needing offensive help, it’s shocking that Bellinger hasn’t signed yet.

The Chicago Cubs, the team that employed him in 2023 and gave him a platform to complete a huge comeback season, are reportedly interested in bringing him back.

That has been the case for weeks, though, and a deal is not imminent.

The organization’s owner talked about Bellinger, but it’s probably not what fans wanted to hear.

“Cubs owner Tom Ricketts on free agent Cody Bellinger: ‘There’s been some discussions but it hasn’t become a negotiation yet,’” MLB insider Jesse Rogers tweeted.

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts on free agent Cody Bellinger: “There’s been some discussions but it hasn’t become a negotiation yet.”

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 19, 2024

“Some discussions” is probably better than nothing, though.

It indicates there is dialogue.

It’s important for the Cubs, however, to re-sign Bellinger if they are serious about contending.

He was their best player in 2023, with excellent center field defense, 26 home runs, a .881 OPS, 20 stolen bases, and 97 RBI.

Without him, they could still contend, but they are a much better team with him in the fold.

Spring training has already started, so anything can happen anytime.

Still, every day he loses seems to hurt his value.

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