Cubs Rumors: Bellinger’s FA price, Ian Happ regret, untimely injury
- RHP Michael Fulmer heads to the 15-day injured list
- Ian Happ's extension looks bad in retrospect
- Cody Bellinger expected to earn MVP payday
Cubs Rumors: Ian Happ extension looks dicey in hindsight
Ian Happ put together the best season of his career in 2022, batting .271/.342/.400 with 17 home runs and 72 RBIs en route to his first All-Star appearance. He won the Gold Glove, too. It was the kind of year that gets a player paid, and Happ was indeed paid.
The Cubs rewarded Happ with a three-year, $61 million extension that runs from 2024-26. For better or worse, Happ is locked in Chicago for the foreseeable future. At the moment, it feels like it's for worse.
Happ has been unable to follow up last season's success with a similar stretch at the plate. He's a talented defender out in left field, but that can only take a player so far when he's struggling to the extent Happ is at the plate. He's batting .241/359/.411 for the season. While there have been faint flickers of hope, Happ is in the middle of a monumental slump.
Since June 1, Happ has hit .213/.323/.391 with seven homers in 198 plate appearances (h/t Cubbies Crib). Chicago has been riddled with shaky outfield play all season, but Happ takes the cake for negative play right now.
Perhaps, in hindsight, the Cubs shouldn't have pushed all their chips in based on one consistent two-way season. Happ has been able to mix quality defense with flashes of power and contact in years past, but 2022 was the only year where it all converged at the same time. If he can't get back to that form in the near future, the Cubs will live to regret that pricey extension.