4 moves the Cubs should make after inking Cody Bellinger to 3-year deal
By Josh Wilson
Decide whether or not to extend Kyle Hendricks
This move is one that Cubs fans want. Kyle Hendricks is one of the only upcoming free agents that the Cubs could reasonably work out a contract extension with to keep him in-house for a few more years. He's a lovable one, in large part because he's the last remaining player from the 2016 title team.
This deal would have to come down to price, though. Hendricks is a fan-favorite and the Friendly Confines would respond really well to getting him secured the next few years. But he's also 34 and, last year aside, was a below-average pitcher in 2021 and 2022. Hendricks gave up a league-leading 200 hits in 2021 and flirted with the 5.0 ERA mark in 2022.
Bruce Levine reported the two sides were working on an extension (on 670 The Score) back in October, but Hendricks later denied that those talks had happened.
The decision to be made here is to simply be decisive. Either the Cubs are traversing toward a new, younger era with their starting rotation or they want to keep Hendricks around for the nostalgia and the hope that he's got what it takes to keep good performances coming even as he approaches the latter half of his fourth decade.
Just pick a path and go with it.