Cubs agree to one-year deal with center fielder Cody Bellinger

SAN DIEGO – The Cubs made their first big move of the offseason on Tuesday, agreeing to terms with center fielder Cody Bellinger on a one-year deal worth $17.5 million, a Sun-Times source confirmed.

“It is a really good fit,” Cubs manager David Ross said in abstract, while the move has yet to be made official, “from a perspective of, it is great defense, great bass running, left handed bat with the potential to have an uptick offensively.”

Bellinger landed on the free agent market when the Dodgers non-tendered him last month. He won the NL MVP just three years ago. But his offensive production has slipped in the years since. He was hampered by injuries in the 2021 season, and his batting average dipped to .165. This past year, he hit .210 with 19 home runs.

“He’s a player probably a lot of teams are surprised is available,” Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, said earlier on Tuesday. “A 27-year-old, MVP-type guy who suffered an injury and is getting his strength back, I think there’ s a lot of teams that are looking at that as a very serious upside.”

Boras said he’d received multi-year offers for Bellinger, but they preferred a one-year deal.

If Bellinger has a bounce-back year with the Cubs, he’d hit free agency again next year with more leverage.

“There are certain baseball truisms that I think are true,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Monday, “like, being strong up the middle really helps.”

Signing Bellinger is the Cubs’ first step to strengthening their roster up the middle of the field. Adding at shortstop and catcher would continue that process.

Both Hoyer and Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts have discussed the team’s financial flexibility this offseason. Hoyer said in October that if he asked for “a significant amount of money” to sign one or more free agent targets, he was sure the Cubs would have the resources to do so.

That’s translated into an approach to free agency that’s made an impression on agents.

Said Boras: “I think the Tom Tom drum is finally beating again.”

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