The Chicago Cubs probably made one of the best signings of this past offseason by bringing in Cody Bellinger. After the Los Angeles Dodgers moved on from Bellinger, the former 2019 NL MVP, the Cubs decided to offer him a one-year, $17.5 million contract.
Bellinger was worthy of every cent, as his tremendous play has been one of the main reasons why the Cubs are competing for a playoff spot.
However the season ends for the Cubs, they will have to decide whether they should re-sign him. Well, they just found out that it won't be cheap, courtesy of Bellinger's agent, Scott Boras.
In an interview with USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Boras says that based on the market of centerfielders and first basemen being rather shallow this upcoming winter, Bellinger should have no problem cashing in on a lucrative deal.
"Demand is often created by rarity,'' said Boras, h/t USA Today. "When you have the rarity of age, the skill level, a five-tool player, a Gold Glove center fielder and first baseman who can run, throw, hit, and hit for power, that's a rare commodity in baseball.
"And the demand for that is very, very high."
Scott Boras hints Cody Bellinger could cash in this winter, takes shot at Dodgers
The outfielder will cash in, and he already has some interest. Nightengale writes that not only are the Cubs expected to attempt to retain him, but said that the San Francisco Giants could offer him the most money, while the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox could also be interested.
Boras didn't only discuss Bellinger's looming free agency. The agent also took time to criticize his client's former team, the Dodgers. Specifically, Boras claims that the organization has Bellinger play even though he wasn't at full health.
"He was hurt, plain and simple," Boras told USA Today. "He has surgery, and the Dodgers asked him to play with a 35% strength deficiency, and then with COVID, he was deprived of the expert medical treatment. He didn't have the shoulder strength. You don't just go from a .900 OPS to a .500 OPS without understanding the impact of an injury.
"So, when he became a free agent, Cody told me, 'I want to go to teams that know me the best, and I want to go where people understand me.'"
Bellinger's final years in Los Angeles saw him deal with multiple injuries, including to his right shoulder, which he dislocated during the NLCS while celebrating with Enrique Hernandez. Bellinger admitted in an interview with ESPN's Jesse Rogers that he rushed back from surgery, and it had an impact on his production.
"I came back as soon as possible from it, not knowing anything," Bellinger told ESPN. "I never dealt with an injury. I never thought how surgery would really affect me. Didn't even know that it did until later on in that year (2021) when I did some one-hand drills. I was like, 'I had no idea where anything [with the shoulder] is right now.'"
Bellinger did miss time this season due to a knee injury but was out for about a month. Through 99 games, Bellinger recorded a .321 batting average, a .368 on-base percentage, a .546 slugging percentage, 20 home runs, 75 RBI, 76 runs scored, 121 hits, 63 strikeouts, and 30 walks in 377 at-bats.
However this season turns out for the Cubs, they will have to prepare for a likely bidding war to retain Bellinger, who is showing just how well he can play when at full health.