CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 02: The Chicago Cubs celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cubs win their first World Series in 108 years. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Cody Bellinger reportedly seeking $200 million or more in free agency
With superstar slugger Shohei Ohtani now off the board after signing on with the Dodgers, the market has seemingly begun to come into focus for center fielder Cody Bellinger, the clear No. 2 position player on the market this offseason. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Bellinger and agent Scott Boras are seeking “$200 million plus” in contract talks this winter.
That Bellinger is in a position to even approach that figure is nothing short of incredible, given the brutal fashion in which his time in L.A. came to an end. The outfielder dealt with shoulder, rib and leg injuries throughout the 2021 season and struggled when he managed to take the field that season, posting an abysmal .165/.240/.302 slash line across 350 trips to the plate. While he was able to avoid the injured list in 2022, the diminished results lingered as he slashed just .210/.265/.389, prompting the Dodgers to non-tender him last offseason.
Bellinger took a one-year deal with the Cubs and entered the 2023 campaign hoping to rebuild his value ahead of another trip to the open market after the season. He succeeded in that effort, slashing .307/.356/.525 while earning a top-10 finish in NL MVP voting and the second Silver Slugger award of his career. While this new-look Bellinger came with potential red flags regarding his quality of contact in 2023, MLBTR nonetheless projected him for a twelve-year, $264 million deal in our annual Top 50 MLB free agents list, the second-highest projected guarantee after Ohtani.
Since then, many of Bellinger’s potential suitors on the free agent market have gone in other directions. The Yankees landed a trio of left-handed hitting outfielders in Juan Soto, Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo on the trade market, seemingly leaving no room for Bellinger on their roster. Meanwhile, the Giants recently landed outfielder Jung Hoo Lee on a six-year, $113 million contract. While it’s certainly feasible that San Francisco could have the resources available to land Bellinger as well, between the club’s existing outfield logjam and need for pitching, it seems more likely that the club would pursue top arms like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Shota Imanaga than double up on talent in center field with a Bellinger signing.
