MLB Rumors: Cubs Bellinger concern, MLB trade rumors and more on Baseball Insiders podcast
- Cubs re-signing Cody Bellinger might not be as inevitable as everyone thinks
- Trade market appears more bleak than ever
- More moves for Angels coming after Robert Stephenson signing
- "Don't get your hopes up" on Red Sox signing anyone soon
MLB Rumors: Cubs re-signing Cody Bellinger might not be as inevitable as everyone thinks
Normally, when a player enters free agency coming off a season in which he finishes tenth in MVP balloting for his league and leads his team to a push for the playoffs that fell just one game short, he'll be a player several teams bid exorbitant amounts of money for. When it comes to Cody Bellinger, however, that doesn't appear to be the case.
Bellinger had a career resurgence this past season with the Chicago Cubs, looking like the MVP Award winner he was back in 2019. He slashed .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs and 97 RBI, stealing 20 bases and winning a Silver Slugger to go along with his usual Gold Glove-caliber defense in both center field and at first base. The problem is that he was among baseball's worst hitters in each of the two seasons prior, and had some incredibly favorable batted-ball metrics that suggested he was among the luckiest hitters this past season.
With Bellinger's market being less than robust, the 28-year-old re-signing with the Cubs felt like the most logical solution. The Yankees were rumored to be interested, but traded for Alex Verdugo and Juan Soto. The Blue Jays were interested, but they re-signed Kevin Kiermaier. The Giants were interested, but they signed Jung Hoo Lee. Who else is there?
Murray believes that while the Cubs still make sense, it's far from inevitable that he stays there. All it takes is one desperate team to land a player like this. Perhaps we can see Los Angeles Angels' owner Arte Moreno wake up one morning and decide he wants to spend big money. The Angels can't do much better than Bellinger in that regard.
If Bellinger to the Cubs was inevitable wouldn't it have happened already? The Cubs clearly don't want to meet his asking price, and Bellinger has not come down with his ask. Again, the Cubs shouldn't be ruled out in Bellinger talks. In fact, they could easily be the favorites with there being known mutual interest. It's just far from a slam dunk. All it takes is for one other team to get desperate.
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