MILWAUKEE (670 The Score) – The Cubs “would love” to bring back first baseman/center fielder Cody Bellinger in free agency this winter, chairman Tom Ricketts said Sunday while also acknowledging the uncertainty that exists on the open market.
Bellinger, 28, will hit free agency soon as he completes his one-year, $17.5-million contract with the Cubs. After Bellinger was cut loose by the Dodgers last winter following a couple down seasons, his goal was to re-establish his value with a strong 2023 and then land a lucrative contract in free agency.
Bellinger accomplished his goal, as he hit .307 with 26 homers, 97 RBIs and an .880 OPS in 130 games this season. There figures to be a lot of competition for Bellinger’s services in free agency.
"Cody had a great summer,” Ricketts said Sunday as the Cubs closed their season with a 4-0 loss to the Brewers. "He's a great teammate. Any team would love to have him, including us. But the free-agent markets, we’ll see where that goes. That will be up to Jed on how he puts those resources to work.”
Ricketts can understand Bellinger’s future from a Cubs fan’s point of view but will leave the team's approach in the Bellinger sweepstakes up to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer.
“I am (a fan) and I talk to thousands of them," Ricketts said. "I get it, I get it. We would love to have him back. That’s something that will be up to the baseball guys and the free-agent markets.
“In general, I think that there’s something to keeping your best players. Obviously, we extended Ian (Happ), we extended Nico (Hoerner) this year. We’ve got six more years of Dansby (Swanson). So we’ve got a good core that we’re definitely holding onto. It’d be nice. It’s a Jed decision. It will be up to Jed, Cody and the free-agent markets.”
Ricketts was also asked how aggressive the Cubs will be in free agency this coming winter.
“We were aggressive this year,” Ricketts said. “And I think we’ll stay in those levels. I’ll let Jed decide where the dollars go. That’s his job. But the nice part is that we do have a fair number of people coming through the system right now that could be real producers for us over the next few years. And on top of that, we have a core – something we couldn’t say two years ago. We have a handful of guys that are going to be here for the next few years, and we’ve got five or six positions that are locked down for next year with guys who are well above major league average players, and that’s a great start. So it will be up to Jed to figure out where to go from here to from here to supplement those guys to put a winning team on the field.”
And are the Cubs willing to go into the luxury tax?
“Yeah, we’ll see where that shakes out,” Ricketts said.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.