Outfielder Cody Bellinger and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a one-year, $17.5 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old Bellinger continued to provide Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, in addition to plus speed on the bases, but he continued to struggle offensively.
Bellinger ventured into the free agent market a year early after he was non-tendered by the Dodgers following the 2022 season. He had been due to make in the neighborhood of $18 million in 2023.
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He was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player after a 2019 season in which he slashed .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 115 RBIs and 15 stolen bases while being worth 7.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement. Since then, though, Bellinger has slashed just .203/.272/.376 over a stretch of 295 regular-season games. His .648 OPS from 2020 to 2022 ranked 299th out of the 338 qualified hitters during that stretch.
Bellinger’s batting average plummeted to .165 in 2021, and continued into last season, when he hit .210 with 19 home runs in 144 games for a Dodgers team that set a franchise record with 111 wins.
In six MLB seasons, all with Los Angeles, Bellinger has a career .248 batting average with 152 home runs, 422 RBIs and 62 stolen bases. The two-time All-Star selection was NL Rookie of the Year in 2017, NLCS MVP in 2018 and won a World Series ring in 2020.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.