I am going to absolutely shock you today with Cody Bellinger information: people are still predicting he winds up back with the Cubs, and also nobody expects it to happen soon. CRAZY, I KNOW!
Still, if you’re like me, you want to see/know everything possible. So I’m here for you.
Checking the above-mentioned boxes, in economical fashion:Choosing a team isn’t really the issue, of course. If it were just about the choice, I have little doubt Bellinger would choose the Cubs. The issue is whether the Cubs make an offer that gives Bellinger enough of a reason to choose them – or if no other suitor makes a clearly better, must-choose-them-instead type offer. So far, the latter hasn’t happened. And there was a report this weekend that, technically, the Cubs haven’t yet made a “formal” offer to Bellinger (and no one else has, either).Bruce Levine indicates, however, that there have been talks between the Cubs and Bellinger’s camp – even referencing unsubstantiated rumors about a five or six-year offer – but the waiting continues because Scott Boras may still be seeking over $200 million:Meanwhile, you will be thoroughly unsurprised to see where USA Today’s baseball contingent are predicting Cody Bellinger will land:That’s right. All five writers predict Bellinger lands with the Cubs, and Bob Nightengale puts it this way: “It’s a perfect marriage after dating all of last season, and everyone knows it’s going to happen. The only question is who proposes first.”(The only other prediction mentioning the Cubs is one writer also sending them Matt Chapman.)On 670 The Score today, Levine talked about how Scott Boras still controls the top of the remaining free agent market, but all four have question marks, and teams are just holding back:You get the sense Levine, like everyone else, thinks Bellinger eventually winds up back with the Cubs. But he also emphasizes that it’s still a waiting game. The Cubs are serious in their interest (at a certain price level), but other teams haven’t stepped up yet. So Boras and Bellinger keep on waiting to see what happens.(Feature photo by Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.)
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
