CHICAGO — Cody Bellinger became the focus of the 2024 Cubs Convention without even showing up to the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk. Fans chanted “CO-DY! CO-DY!” while Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts stood on stage during the opening ceremony. Marquee Sports Network broadcaster Jon Sciambi joked about FaceTiming Scott Boras, Bellinger’s agent, in the middle of a Q&A with Cubs executives Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins. Cheers erupted when All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson told the crowd: “Before we get to next year, we got to re-sign Belli.”
The annual fan festival ended Sunday without Bellinger and Boras strolling into a hotel ballroom to announce the largest contract in franchise history. Hoyer’s front office is obsessed with value, not optics, operating with wide latitude from the Ricketts family. Bellinger hired Boras to get him a megadeal, and the agent’s playbook involves leveraging relationships with owners and wielding influence by representing so many great players. With about a month to go until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, it wouldn’t be shocking if these negotiations drag out until after the Super Bowl.
“We all love Cody,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. “He’s a tremendous baseball player. He’s going through the process, which is what he’s played this long and this hard to be able to do. He’s going through the full process and eventually he will make a decision and something will happen. But right now, it’s probably the hardest part of the process, being at this point in the year and not knowing where you’re going. It takes a lot to be able to get all the way through that. I applaud him and respect him for going through the whole thing.”
In the meantime, newly hired manager Craig Counsell asked Cubs coaches to submit suggested lineups, as a way to learn more about the team’s personnel and how staffers process information.
Did this assignment ask for versions of the lineup with Bellinger and without Bellinger?
“No,” Counsell told reporters with a laugh. “Nice try.”
Swanson is trying to push Hoyer and Hawkins out of their comfort zone, knowing that the Cubs need Bellinger (or another middle-of-the-order hitter) plus some bullpen reinforcements to continue building a playoff-caliber team. Swanson signed a seven-year, $177 million contract last offseason with the idea that the Cubs would be competitive in 2023 before stepping on the accelerator.
Boras works 24/7, but this weekend might have been a good time to focus on other clients such as Blake Snell and let Cubs players do the talking for him.
“I would love to play with Belli more,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “Last year was incredible to watch firsthand, from the work he was doing in January in Arizona and through the entire year. He’s pretty much everything you could ask for, from a teammate (perspective), from his versatility to different ways he impacts the game on both sides of the ball.”
“Everybody saw what he did on the field — it was obviously magnificent,” Cubs pitcher Justin Steele said. “But the teammate and the person behind the player is by far his best attribute.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong remembered the welcome he received from Bellinger when he made his major-league debut last September: “I don’t know if I saw that guy out on the field for BP one time when I was up there except for my first day. He just spent 30 minutes talking to me. We had already known each other, but just that in itself was really cool. That shows that he cares, plain and simple. He’s a good leader, a great clubhouse guy who brings great energy.”
The Cubs are likely signaling to Boras that they already have a future center fielder in Crow-Armstrong, who struggled in limited action at the major-league level last year after an excellent combined season at Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A…
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