Cody Bellinger rumors reach their boiling point at Cubs con

The Chicago Cubs held their annual 'Cubs Convention' over the weekend. Fans gathered at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk to listen to players, coaches, and front office members talk about the team while celebrating a new season to come.

One theme dominated the afternoon, and it was a player who didn't show up — Cody Bellinger.

The Cubs' free agency silence has been a point of concern all offseason. Jed Hoyer earned praise for his recent signing of Japanese ace Shota Imanaga, but there is still a rather glaring hole in the middle of the lineup. A hole only Bellinger can fill at this point.

Last season marked Bellinger's return to stardom. After two god-awful, injury-plagued years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago signed Bellinger to a one-year, prove-it contract worth $12 million. Prove it, he did. Bellinger slashed .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs and 97 RBI in 499 AB.

While there has been hang-wringing about Bellinger's poor hard-hit metrics, he is a disciplined hitter whose sweet-spot percentage (38.0) landed in the 86th percentile last season. He doesn't walk a ton, but he also doesn't strike out. Bellinger battles every at-bat and he has delivered multiple All-Star caliber seasons to date. That includes his 2019 MVP campaign with the Dodgers.

So, in short, the Cubs should work hard to re-sign Bellinger. It's clear the team as presently constructed won't have the offense necessary to contend if Bellinger departs. That said, the Cubs' front office tends to prioritize "value," as Patrick Mooney of The Athletic puts it. Bellinger is a Scott Boras client. He wants to maximize the dollar value on his next contract. If the Cubs don't pay up, he will assuredly leave.

While the front office danced around the Bellinger topic in their conversations at Cubs Con, multiple players expressly acknowledged the importance of bringing Bellinger back — none more forcefully than All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson.

"Before we get to next year, we got to re-sign Belli."

Swanson was not the only Cubs player to emphasize Bellinger's value to the team. Ian Happ highlighted not only Bellinger's baseball acumen, but his presence in the locker room.

"We all love Cody. He’s a tremendous baseball player. He’s going through the process, which is what he’s played this long and this hard to be able to do. He’s going through the full process and eventually he will make a decision and something will happen. But right now, it’s probably the hardest part of the process, being at this point in the year and not knowing where you’re going. It takes a lot to be able to get all the way through that. I applaud him and respect him for going through the whole thing."

Per Mooney and The Athletic, fans were heard chanting, "CO-DY! CO-DY!" The pressure has been applied directly to Jed Hoyer and the front office. Now, it's a matter of whether or not the Cubs can deliver on a suitable contract to the 28-year-old.

Cubs Convention features several explicit pleas to re-sign Cody Bellinger

It's clear Bellinger supplied value both on and off the field in Chicago. The Cubs will look to build on last season's narrow postseason miss. Bellinger was the team's best player after the All-Star break, but his injury history and spotty analytics profile serve as the basis for uncertainty about his next contract. If Bellinger signs a 10 or 11-year deal and falls off again, Chicago will be left in a difficult position.

The Cubs could view 21-year-old Pete Crow-Armstrong as the heir apparent to Bellinger in centerfield, but there are serious doubts about PCA's ability to contribute offensively in the short term. Chicago already let Jeimer Candelario walk this free agency period. The Cubs feature one of the MLB's top defenses and a workable bullpen, not to mention arguably the best manager in baseball. But, it's difficult to compete at the highest level if the offense can't generate runs. No Chicago player generated more runs than Bellinger in 2023.

Recent reports peg the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners as potential threats to lure Bellinger away from Chicago. It's clear, just from the longevity of Bellinger's free agent period, that Chicago isn't the only team hesitant to match Scott Boras' asking price, which is said to exceed $200 million. That said, all it takes is one team to budge. Then, the Cubs face a potential conundrum.

The longer this lasts, the better the Cubs' outlook. That doesn't mean much at all, though. We won't know Bellinger's true intentions (or Chicago's) until the dotted line is inked.