(670 The Score) Just like fans, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer continues to marvel at star Cody Bellinger's sensational 2023 season.
Bellinger is hitting .321 with 20 homers, 75 RBIs and a .914 OPS in 99 games. He's especially been on a tear for the past two months. Bellinger was named the National League Player of the Month in July, when he hit .400 with a 1.222 OPS.
In 24 games in August, Bellinger is hitting .344 with five homers, 29 RBIs and a .957 OPS.
"When we signed him, obviously our hope was that he would get a real bounce-back from the '21 and '22 seasons," Hoyer said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Monday morning. "We didn't necessarily expect he was going to go back (to MVP form) – he's a different player but certainly a version of the 2019 Cody Bellinger that won an MVP award. The power was different then, but the contact has been critical to his batting average, his RBI ability can drive in runs, it's just been just incredible.
"You almost take it for granted how often he's come up big. Our hope was that he would bounce back and go back to being a really good player … but for him to really go out and have an MVP type of season is something that was kind of beyond our imagination. I'm just glad he's doing it because it's been so much fun for everyone to watch."
Bellinger, 28, is set to become a free agent after the season, and he'll likely be the best player on the market behind two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who recently suffered a UCL tear in this throwing arm. That injury could keep Ohtani from pitching in 2024, though he's still one of the premier hitters in the game.
Asked if Ohtani's injury could affect Bellinger's free agency in any way, Hoyer responded he couldn't directly that issue before praising Ohtani.
"It's so unbelievable what he's able to do, and you just want him to be able to do it because no one else in our sport is doing it," Hoyer said of Ohtani.
"It's a treat for this generation to be able to watch it."
You can listen to Hoyer's full interview in the audio player at the top of this story.
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