Cody Bellinger’s New Contract With The Chicago Cubs: Will It Deliver?

(CTN News) – In the pursuit of Cody Bellinger this offseason, teams looking for hitting help had to consider this calculation.

Even though the market is likely to depress Cody Bellinger’s contract length and value this winter, the Cubs ultimately decided the upside was worth the risk.

They reportedly agreed to extend Cody Bellinger’s contract for three years and $80 million. According to reports, Cody Bellinger can opt out of the agreement after the first and second years.

Bellinger’s bat was the most coveted on a meager free agent market following Shohei Ohtani’s signing with the Dodgers following a resurgent 2023 campaign in Chicago suggesting he had overcome the hitting and injury issues that took him to the depths of his final three seasons in Los Angeles.

Since re-signing their most valuable position player from last year, the Cubs are counting on those seasons to be blips along with Cody Bellinger’s return to MVP form, rather than the norm.

The transition from MVP to below the Mendoza Line

It is important to note that Bellinger struggled throughout the entire 2020-22 season. At times, he was among the worst hitters in baseball, with statistics that would have resulted in most players being relegated to the minor leagues.

After winning the National League MVP award in 2020, he began to have difficulties. The COVID-shortened season saw Cody Bellinger post a .239/.333/.455 line.

His downfall is widely attributed to an injury. At Globe Life Field, Cody Bellinger hit the go-ahead home run against the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 2020 NLCS en route to the Dodgers’ first World Series championship. The ball was touched home by AJ Pollock and Kiké Hernández as they exchanged celebratory forearm smashes.

During one of those smashes, his right shoulder was dislocated. It was then that he underwent offseason shoulder surgery and had one of his worst seasons in his professional career.

Just two seasons after hitting an MLB-best 8.6 WAR in 2019, Cody Bellinger slashed .165/.240/.302 in 95 games in 2021. While he improved in 2022, he did not do so by a great deal, slashing .210/.265/.389 in 144 games. Due to the drop-off, his days with the Dodgers were numbered.

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