On June 24, the Chicago Cubs played their first game against the St. Louis Cardinals in London. Since then, Cody Bellinger has been the best player in the National League and he's once again reclaimed his status as a superstar. It would be fantastic if the Cubs kept the star that they have been looking for because Cody Bellinger is all the way back.
On Sunday, Bellinger led the offense to a 7-2 win at Wrigley Field, helping the Cubs win their third straight game over the Cardinals. The left-handed hitter cranked a two-run home run off lefty starter Jordan Montgomery, making St. Louis pay after a two-out error in the first inning.
Bellinger stepped up to the plate in the third inning, when the Cubs had the bases loaded with one out. He was probably less than an inch away from blasting a grand slam on a hanging curve ball from Montgomery, but Bellinger's bat delivered another run with a sac-fly.
The Cubs offense rallied after that, getting three consecutive two-out hits with runners in scoring position to take a 7-0 lead and bury the Cardinals early on Sunday.
The Cubs are still stuck in third place in the NL Central Division, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 6.5 games and they're 5.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot. But what if the Cubs continue to rack up wins this week, they're not trading away the best player in baseball in July?
Since July 1, Bellinger has posted a 1.7 fWAR, 237 wRC+, he's batting .452, has a .475 OBP. and a .795 slugging %. All those rank number one among all MLB hitters.
Well, according to MLB reporter Bruce Levine, the chances are better that the Cubs do end up keeping Bellinger through the trade deadline than there is to keeping right-handed starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.
Stroman has been straight forward in the media for the past few months that while he'd love to stay with the Cubs longterm, neither he nor his agent have been approached by the Cubs to engage in extension talks this season. The Cubs front office has kept mum on the topic and it does seem like we're headed to a Stroman trade leading up to the Aug. 1 deadline.
I've been flip-flopping all year when thinking about a Stroman trade. I wish the Cubs were in a clear position to be competitors and this would be a no-doubt decision. Keep Stroman, know that you're going into October with a solid chance to make a postseason run. Unfortunately, the Cubs aren't in that position.
Now, while I still think it would be to the Cubs' advantage to at least have extension talks with Stroman to gage his market, maybe they've already made a decision that they will be targeting one of the many good starting pitchers in free agency after 2023. If that's the case, you also wouldn't want the Cubs to lose Stroman for nothing. The right-handed pitcher has already accepted a qualifying offer in the past, so the Cubs can't do that with him.
However, the Cubs can offer the qualify offer to Bellinger after this season. No matter what, though, Bellinger is exactly the player the Cubs have needed for such a long time. He's a star. He's a guy you build around. Pay him.
Cody Bellinger Year-by-Year wRC+
2017: 138
2018: 120
2019: 161
2020: 112
Had shoulder surgery in 2020-21 offseason
2021: 47
2022: 83
2023: 144
I know some fans are skeptical about Bellinger's big bounce back season, but he's been a great hitter in every season that he's been healthy. During the 2020 NLCS, Bellinger suffered a freak injury, dislocating his shoulder celebrating a home run.
Bellinger needed offseason surgery and it took him time to fully get back to 100%.
Guess what, he's looking 100% with the Cubs. In 68 games this season, Bellinger has a slash line of .319/.369/.549, a .918 OPS, 144 wRC+, with 14 home runs, a 7.7 BB% and his strikeout rate of 16.7 percent is the lowest it's been since his 2019 MVP season.
Don't trade Bellinger. Keep Bellinger. Win with Bellinger.
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