Why Bellinger could be Cubs’ most important signing in 2023 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Cody Bellinger sounded like he was attracted to what he heard about playing at Wrigley Field, and said he appreciated the chance to now play for two iconic franchises.
But at the end of the day his one-year decision to play for the Cubs is a $17.5 million business decision.
And at the end of next year how that decision gets measured might have more to say about the Cubs’ 2023 season — if not the direction their latest rebuild goes from here — than even the bigger free agent signings of Dansby Swanson and Jameson Taillon ($245 million combined).
“It’s definitely important. I’m not going to say it’s not,” Bellinger, a 2019 MVP, said of the decision to seek a one-year deal as a means to re-establish value after he was released by the Dodgers following two underachieving seasons, despite receiving multiyear offers, according to his agent.
“But where I’m at right now and how I feel mentally and physically, I’m in a pretty good spot,” he said. “It’s definitely a big year, but I feel really good, and I’m excited for it.”
It’s hard to overstate how much of a wild-card-factor Bellinger represents for the Cubs in a 2023 season that’s supposed to be the inflection point toward competitiveness after they tanked to rebuild for the second time in a decade.
Back-to-back losing seasons left the Cubs with 2022 attendance lower than any season since 1997 (excluding pandemic-related restrictions), sagging TV viewership and a gutted roster with vastly more question marks than answers.
Swanson’s seven-year deal and Taillon’s four-year deal represent longer, known-quantity building blocks in team president Jed Hoyer’s vision for his Next Great Cubs Team.
Bellinger represents the potential for sudden impact, for the spectacular, for the kind of power from the left side and athletic ability in centerfield to lift the Cubs’ lineup toward playoff-caliber levels.
Or none of the above.
The range of possibilities are at least as wide as the range of his results during six years in the big leagues.
The first three years included 111 home runs, a .920 OPS, a Rookie of the Year award, Gold Glove, MVP and two All-Star selections.
The last three included a shoulder injury that might have hurt his hitting mechanics even after he recovered, offensive production that lagged behind Jason Heyward’s and enough doubt going forward that the…