On the eve of the offseason, Cody Bellinger's player option decision seems clear

With a victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be World Series champions. A victory by the Dodgers would also signal the start of Major League Baseball's offseason with the first decision for the Chicago Cubs being Cody Bellinger's $27.5MM player option.

In recent weeks, there appears to be a growing belief that Cody Bellinger will be opting out of his current contract with the Cubs in favor of testing free agency. On the surface, given the power regression Bellinger had last season, it would seem to be a risk to forego the two years, $52.5MM remaining on his deal with the Cubs but that may not be the sense across Major League Baseball.

A reminder of the contract projection Jim Bowden had for Bellinger last week with The Athletic (Subscription Required). Bowden places Bellinger's next contract at 4 years for $112MM. A reminder of why, if Bellinger does opt out of his deal with the Cubs, the team likely will not engage in a contract talks for a potential return.

Along those lines, Jordan Bastian, in his latest Cubs Beat newsletter, writes that the "general belief" is that Bellinger will indeed be opting out of his deal with the Cubs this offseason.

Cody Bellinger's player option will be the focus of the coming days.

Bellinger's decision is due within five days of the conclusion of the World Series. If the Dodgers win tonight, the Cubs will have a definitive answer by this time next week.

When talking about the Cubs' offseason, the assumption should be that Bellinger will not be back with the team for the 2025 season. That's not necessarily a bad thing as Bellinger's departure does create much-needed financial and roster flexibility. The issue in saying that is Jed Hoyer doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt in terms of actually utilizing that flexibility.