For the fourth straight season, the Chicago Cubs have missed the playoffs.
After retooling around premier free agents like Shota Imanaga and hiring manager Craig Counsell, the team was hoping for a better result. Instead, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office are left to try again this offseason.
Their efforts will largely revolve around Cody Bellinger, a two-time Silver Slugger and former Most Valuable Player award winner, who returned to the team on a three-year, $80 million contract that includes player options for 2025 and 2026. This winter, Bellinger can re-test free agency or accept a $27.5 million salary with the Cubs.
That decision will determine a significant chunk of the team’s payroll and, in his latest public comments, Hoyer seemed to suggest Bellinger will return to the open market.
“When we signed the deal in late February, if he had a good year, we knew he’d have lots of options,” Hoyer told Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. “He had a good year and so I think he’ll have options.”
Alluding to Bellinger’s free agency “options” might demonstrate Hoyer’s assumption that the player will field other offers and ultimately move on.
“Some may see it as this season wasn’t good enough for Bellinger to opt out, but he only needs to be guaranteed over $50 million for it to make sense,” Sharma added. “The way Jed Hoyer was talking, it didn’t seem like he’d be surprised if Bellinger hit free agency for the third winter in a row.”
This past season, Bellinger slashed .266/.325/.426, a far cry from the .307/.356/.525 line that earned him National League Comeback Player of the Year honors in his debut with the Cubs in 2023. But his extensive resume, relative youth at age 29 and defensive versatility all suggest he could earn more money and find himself on a better roster by joining another team.
Hoyer certainly seems prepared for that possibility.
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