Cubs fans speak up: ‘Bring back Bellinger’
Coming in from the snow, slush, wind, rain and maybe even some bonus graupel, Cubs fans packed into the Sheraton Grand Chicago Friday and warmed themselves up with some baseball talk.
The main topic of conversation on the opening day of Cubs Convention? Not surprisingly, Cody Bellinger.
Fans desperately want the free agent back in a Cubs uniform for another season and more. Many of them were chanting “Cody” when chairman Tom Ricketts took the stage during Friday's opening ceremonies.
Second baseman Nico Hoerner is also on the bandwagon to bring Bellinger back after the center fielder/first baseman hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs and 97 RBI in his first season calling Wrigley Field home last year.
“I would love to play with Belli more,” Hoerner said. “He's awesome. I'm super proud of him. Last year was incredible to watch first-hand, from the work he was putting in in January in Arizona and through the entire year.
“He was pretty much everything you could ask for from a teammate, from his versatility to the different ways he impacts the game on both sides of the ball. And just the person he is. Wishing him the best and obviously I hope he's with us.”
The off-season was dead quiet for the Cubs until this week, when Japanese starting pitcher Shota Imanaga signed a contract that could pay him $80 million over five years.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is also excited about Michael Busch, an intriguing young hitter acquired in a Thursday trade with the Dodgers.
But all in all, it's been a disappointing winter for the Cubs so far.
“It's been a slow off-season in general, I think around the industry,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, we're a little slower than most. But the way I see it, I want to do good deals. I don't want to do bad deals. There was really nothing early on that presented itself and made a lot of sense for us. You've got to be patient.”
Represented by Scott Boras, Bellinger is likely to continue being patient as well as he shops for a new contract expected to come in north of $200 million.
It's definitely a waiting game, but there is no doubt the Cubs badly need the 28-year-old Bellinger's potent left-handed bat in the middle of their lineup.
“I think the world of Cody,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, he had a great year and even beyond having a great year for us, he really ingratiated himself well with the city, the fan base, the players.”
There are more than a few MLB teams that prefer not to deal with Boras, who is notorious for taking his time and getting the maximum value for his star players.
Hoyer said the Cubs are not one of them, and he's always had a good relationship with Boras.
“There are a lot of players available that are not (Boras') clients, and obviously he has a very good stable of clients as well,” Hoyer said. “Some off-seasons he works quickly and sometimes he doesn't. This year he hasn't. We're kind of working on angles. Ultimately, there are many paths to a good off-season and that's our goal, try to navigate that path as well as possible.”
Even with spring training opening in just over a month, Hoyer said “we're not done not with our off-season by any stretch.”
New manager Craig Counsell echoed that sentiment.
“Look, there are no games until April 1, right?” Counsell said. “So it's not really slow. It's slow, it takes it's pace. Jed's job and the front office's job is to strike when the deal is right. Until then, you have to be disciplined. Until then, you have to just wait.
“That's how an off-season works, and you don't know when the opportunities are going to come and when the negotiations are going to turn and when the right phone call is going to come.”