The Chicago Cubs received some fortunate news on Cody Bellinger this weekend. The 28-year-old outfielder is fully expected to remain with the Cubs instead of opting out of his contract.
Bellinger is in the first year of a three-year, $80 million contract, and he will make $27.5 million next year, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Following San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman's gigantic extension from a week ago, it was expected that Bellinger would plan for a long-term deal to remain in Chicago, or seek a future with another club. That has changed in a hurry, as Bellinger won't opt out of his current contract and is “fully expected” to remain with the Cubs.
Bellinger is having a decent season (.269/.332/.468), despite it being far from his previous output. The Cubs shopped around, albeit subtly, at the trade deadline in July to possibly move Bellinger after his slow start since he signed his three-year contract. After finishing top-10 in the MVP race last season, the Cubs (75-73) are hoping that Bellinger can return to form as they attempt to make a playoff push this month.
Cubs postseason chances come down to September
The Cubs are chasing the Milwaukee Brewers (86-62) in the NL Central. However, it's not much looking like the Brewers will be caught. The Cubs are six games back on the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the NL Wild Card, but mainly they need some sort of collapse from the Mets in order to secure a spot.
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Bellinger should be a huge part of what the Cubs attempt to accomplish for the final month of the season. Second baseman Nico Hoerner weighed in regarding the team's playoff chances.
“There’s no hiding that,” Hoerner said, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “Of course, I’m looking to see if the Mets and Braves have won. Mathematically, it’s not in our control, right? We could win every game the rest of the year, and if they also win every game — like the Mets (seemingly) have — then you don’t go to the playoffs. Do we think we can do it? Yeah, we think we can continue to play really high-level baseball.
“I like the schedule that we have in front of us. I like how our group is playing. And I like our chances of having a really high winning percentage the rest of the season. We can’t control what the other teams do, especially when we don’t play them. That’s where you wish you had those head-to-head opportunities to make up ground.”
