Outfielder Cody Bellinger has signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs, per Jeff Passan.
Outfielder Cody Bellinger and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a one-year, $17.5 million contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 6, 2022
The deal is for one year and $17.5 million. Bellinger, 26, is coming off of a season that saw him play 100 games for the first time since 2019. He slashed .210/.265/.389 with an OPS of .654. Power-wise, he had 19 home runs and 27 doubles. In terms of productivity, he scored 70 runs and drove in 68. All in all, this led to 196 total bases, an OPS+ of 78, and an overall WAR of 1.2. In other advanced statistics, he posted a BABIP of .255 and an isolated power metric of .179 while adding a WPA of -1.6.
The Career of Cody Bellinger
Cody Bellinger was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 124th pick in the 2013 Draft. He spent his first two professional seasons posting some underwhelming statistics. However, in 2015, he broke out with Single-A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. In 128 games, he hit .264 with 30 homers and 103 RBI. That earned him a call to Double-A Tulsa where, in 114 games in 2016, he hit .263 with 23 homers and 94 RBI. By April 2017, he had made it to the big leagues.
In terms of starts, Cody Bellinger shot out of a metaphorical cannon. He won NL Rookie of the Year in ’17, hitting .267 with 39 home runs. His stock only rose from there. In 2019, he was named NL MVP. That year, he slashed .305/.406/.629 with an OPS of 1.035. He had 47 home runs, 115 RBI, 34 doubles, 170 hits, and a staggering 351 total bases in 156 games. His WAR of 8.6 led all National League players. He also won a Silver Slugger and Golden Glove that year. Since then, things in the career of Cody Bellinger have been unstable. A change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered for the one-time star.
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