Scott Boras Blinks First
After reportedly seeking a $200M+ deal for his free-agent client Cody Bellinger all winter and coming up empty, Boras negotiated a shorter deal for $80 million for Bellinger to return to the Cubs.
We knew this day was coming, and now it’s here: The top free agent hitter still on the market has signed a contract to play major league baseball this season and will report to spring training immediately as, uh, the games have already started.
It’s no surprise that Cody Bellinger returned to the Cubs.
No other team was ever seriously linked to the star centerfielder (at least publicly). And even the fabled “mystery team” a certain scribe close to Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, tends to float to the market to add intrigue/confusion/drive up bidding never materialized.
The Cubs always made the most sense for Belli.
The club needs offense, and Bellinger was the team’s best hitter in 2023. Chicago had done very little this off-season to improve upon last year’s (non-playoff) team besides steal manager Craig Counsell from their rival Brewers. The team believes Counsell may be worth 4-5 wins by himself on the margins, but the fact remains that their new skipper can’t run down gappers in centerfield or hit baseballs into and over the ivy.
Bellinger played so well on the North Side last year that Cubs fans would not have let GM Jed Hoyer know peace until he brought back the centerfielder. Their bullying worked, as word leaked yesterday the Cubs had agreed to terms with Bellinger on a three-year contract worth $80 million.
Scott Boras is the toughest agent in the game and, as much as fans may loathe him,
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