Cubs’ Cody Bellinger picks up $27.5 million player option for 2025, avoids free agency
Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger has picked up his $27.5 million option for the 2025 season, team sources confirmed to The Athletic.
Bellinger’s decision to opt into the second year of a potential three-year deal comes as a slight surprise based on the whispers heard near the end of the season. Team president Jed Hoyer wrapped up the year talking about what Bellinger may do.
“When we signed the deal in late February, if he had a good year, we knew he’d have a lot of options,” Hoyer said. “He had a good year and so I think he’ll have options.”
That seemed to indicate that Hoyer believed Bellinger would opt out. Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, will have a great read on the market due to his deep roster of free-agents this winter. Boras could have positioned him as a great fallback option to teams that miss out on Juan Soto. There are also very few center fielders available this winter, an area where most teams are always looking to upgrade.
But Bellinger was adamant at the end of the season that he had yet to make a decision. Ultimately, he must not have felt satisfied with his performance in 2024, when he delivered a 109 wRC+ in 130 games while posting the second-lowest isolated power (.161) of his career.
After putting up a 136 wRC+ while on a prove-it, one-year deal with the Cubs in 2023, Bellinger struggled to find the robust market he had hoped for last winter. Instead, he ended up back with the Cubs on a three-year deal, potentially worth $80 million, with opt outs after each year.
The lefty outfielder/first baseman has been open about feeling comfortable in Chicago and with his teammates and coaches on the Cubs. One aspect of 2024 that worked against him was the fact that Wrigley Field played like a pitcher’s haven all season long as offenses put up the second-worst OPS in baseball at the historic ballpark, ahead of only Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
Bellinger was one of many players significantly impacted by the wind consistently blowing in at Wrigley. In 2023, Bellinger had a 129 wRC+ on the road, which dropped to 117 in 2024 — not a devastating collapse by any means. But at home, he posted a 143 wRC+ in 2023. That fell to 99 in 2024 as Wrigley played havoc on offenses across the game.
The decision for Bellinger to stick with the Cubs will force Hoyer and his front office to get creative as they look to improve the team’s offense. While the final numbers of the group weren’t so bad, the lack of run production in May and June essentially sunk the team’s chances to make the postseason. Adding power to the lineup seems like a must. But with so many spots in the lineup taken by productive regulars, it will take some outside-the-box thinking to get it done.
Where Bellinger plays will also be up for debate. Rookies Pete Crow-Armstrong (center field) and Michael Busch (first base) both did enough to garner everyday playing time to start 2025. It’s possible that Bellinger plays right field and Seiya Suzuki continues to DH. That assumes no trades are made to open up spots for younger players or potential free-agent or trade acquisitions.
The Cubs also declined the $10 million option they had on pitcher Drew Smyly. The lefty appeared in 50 games for the Cubs in 2024, all out of the bullpen, and posted a 3.84 ERA in 58 2/3 innings.
