Cody Bellinger News: Cubs star could explore market next year in pursuit of 'monster deal,' per insider

Cody Bellinger finally returned to the Chicago Cubs after a long free-agency break in the offseason. On Tuesday, he finalized a three-year contract worth $80 million with the franchise.

The 28-year-old was expecting a much bigger deal but was unable to get one and eventually ended up with the Cubs. On a recent episode of the Foul Territory podcast, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal stated that the star player could look for a better deal next year.

“Cody Bellinger can go on the market next year at 29 and perhaps still get the monster deal. We've seen this before with Boras clients,” said Rosenthal.

The two-time All-Star and his agent Scott Boras were reportedly looking for a $200 million deal this offseason. Rosenthal also discussed some reasons why Cody Bellinger was finding it hard to secure his desired contract.

In 2023, Bellinger had the lowest average velocity of his career, which ranked him in the 22nd percentile among major league players.

“The average exit velocity last year was in 22nd percentile, which means, despite his great surface numbers, he had an average exit velocity that was better than only one out of 5 major league players,” Rosenthal said.

Cody Bellinger settled for $80 million Cubs deal due to 'other market forces,' says Rosenthal

Rosenthal stated that this year’s market was ‘different,’ affected by local television deals, franchises being less active than usual, and other trade and free market acquisitions, all of which affected Bellinger’s chances of receiving a top deal.

According to Rosenthal, even the New York Yankees, who showed interest in Bellinger, were perhaps less active than they might have been after acquiring Juan Soto. They could still go for Blake Snell. The Yankees have been looking to add quality starting pitching.

After Yamamoto's snub, Snell's top name left but his demands were too high. Yankees may be waiting for his asking price to drop. Unless that happens, maybe they're reluctant to commit big money elsewhere. That could be a reason why they didn't go all in for Bellinger.