Chicago Cubs Retain Star Outfielder
Cody Bellinger agreed to opt in to his contract for the 2025 season with the Chicago Cubs. The former NL MVP had the opportunity to opt out of the final two years of the deal that he signed last offseason. Bellinger has another chance to opt out after next season before the final year of his three-year contract kicks in. He is hoping for a huge 2025 campaign to set him up for a lucrative payday.
Bellinger chose to exercise his player option after a solid 2024 year that scaled back his production from the previous season. The decision to opt in for more security comes after an extended contract negotiation in the offseason of 2023 led by Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras. Bellinger was one of Boras’ five marquee clients last offseason, and like all of the others, Bellinger took a deal that was lower than the expected value.
Bellinger Back With the Chicago Cubs
Cody Bellinger will be back on the north side of Chicago for the 2025 season after it was announced that the Cubs outfielder and first baseman opted in to the second year of his three-year, $80 million deal. Bellinger opted for the security of a guaranteed $27.5 million salary to play for the Chicago Cubs in 2025 and try to help them break through the 83-win ceiling that Bellinger has experienced in his two years with the Chicago Cubs.
Bellinger had a solid year in 2024 that helped lead the team’s offense, yet fell short compared to his 2023 campaign. In both seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Bellinger played in 130 games. The 29-year-old posted solid numbers this year, hitting .266 with 18 home runs and 78 RBI, a .325 on-base percentage, a .426 slugging percentage, .751 OPS with nine steals and a 2.2 WAR. It is only when compared to his inaugural campaign with the Chicago Cubs that Bellinger’s numbers fail to compete.
In his first year with the Chicago Cubs, Bellinger bounced back immensely from his final years in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. In 2023 with a fresh start, Bellinger hit .307 with 26 home runs, 97 runs batted in, a .356 on-base percentage, a .525 slugging percentage, .881 OPS, 20 stolen bases, and a 4.4 WAR. The jolt that Bellinger was hoping to add to his market value wasn’t the spike that he or his agent were hoping for after a lengthy offseason. Bellinger returned to the Cubs on a three-year, $80M deal that gave him a $10M annual raise over his $17.5 million contract in 2023.
2025 with Cody Bellinger
The defense was more versatile with Cody Bellinger for the Chicago Cubs in 2024. With the emergence of Pete Crow-Armstrong as a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder and a viable first baseman in Michael Busch, Bellinger moved around the field quite much in 2024. Early on he played center field and first base but as the year progressed he received at-bats at the DH position as Craig Counsell tried to figure out how to best utilize his complicated roster.
Injuries to Seiya Suzuki created an opening for Bellinger at the position he won his Gold Glove in right field. Bellinger remained in right even when Suzuki came back and his spot in the outfield coincided with a year-long commitment to his place in the heart of the batting order. Bellinger will likely remain in both places in 2025 unless something drastic happens between now and when Bellinger is back in Cubbie Blue in the spring in Arizona.
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