One season isn’t much time to make an impact on everything from a baseball team’s on-field success to its culture. And yet free agent Cody Bellinger inspired a common refrain among his former Cubs teammates at Cubs Convention this weekend.
“We all love Cody,” Ian Happ said.
“I would love to play with Bellinger more,” Nico Hoerner said.
“We’d love to have him back,” Dansby Swanson said. “I think that that’s about as clear as day. So hopefully we can make that happen.”
Bellinger is the best free agent hitter available, after Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers last month. On a pillow contract with the Cubs last year, he put together his best offensive season since his MVP year – even notching a new career-high batting average of .307 – and played staunch defense in both center field and at first base.
He ensured a robust payday this winter. Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras, have shown patience, even as the Yankees boosted their offense by trading for Juan Soto, and the Blue Jays re-signed center fielder Kevin Kiermaier – although that doesn’t necessarily take them out of the running for Bellinger.
There are still plenty of teams that could significantly improve with his addition. But Cubs Convention underscored the point that there’s no fit for either side quite like a reunion.
“Everybody saw what he did on the field, and it was obviously magnificent what he was able to do,” left-hander Justin Steele said. “But the teammate and the person – the person behind the player is by far the best attribute he has. The guy showed up in the locker room every day with a smile on his face, good vibes, everybody wants to show up and talk to him that day.”
When teams commit a large sum to a player, they want to ensure, as best they can, that the player will be able to sustain his past success, and that he’ll be a good fit in their clubhouse.
The Cubs know exactly what went into Bellinger’s bounce-back 2023 season. And they witnessed the effects of his laidback presence on his teammates.
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who debuted late last season, got fresh eyes on the dynamic between Bellinger and other team leaders like Swanson, Happ and Hoerner.
“It’s so many different personalities, but they all worked really well together is what I noticed,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Cody’s presence in the clubhouse was great.”
Even though signing Bellinger could affect Crow-Armstrong’s playing time, the Cubs’ top prospect was adamant: “I want him to come back. I just like him as a human being and as a teammate. I’m here to win. And Cody Bellinger is going to do that, and help us make that happen, then he should be here.”
Not to mention, Bellinger is already a fan favorite.
When Cubs play-by-play announcer Jon “Boog” Sciambi, who was moderating the baseball operations panel Saturday, opened up to questions from the audience, the second fan to take the mic started with: “I’m going to ask the question everybody wants to know. Where do things stand with Cody Bellinger?”
Other fans signaled their approval with hoots and applause.
“I’ll give you the non-answer,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “We loved having him. We’ve got a great relationship. And we’ll see.”
The next fan, a kid much shorter than the mic stand, wasn’t letting Hoyer get away so easily.
“What are the chances that you’re going to sign Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger?” he asked.
The room swelled with laughter.
“You’ve got a bright future in this,” Sciambi said.
“I like the fact that you added Chapman,” Hoyer said. “That was good.”
Fans brought up Bellinger in the Q&A portion of panel after panel. They chanted his name. Finally, to wrap up the late-afternoon hitters session, Swanson gave the fans in the audience, and those watching Marquee Sports Network at home, exactly the answer they’d been looking for.
“Before we get to next year, we’ve got to re-sign Belli,” he said to raucous applause.
