4 quotes Cubs fans will love to hear from the Cody Bellinger press conference

With the long-anticipated reunion between Cody Bellinger and the Chicago Cubs made official this week, we got a re-introductory press conference with Bellinger flanked by Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and agent Scott Boras.

It should come as no surprise that all three had plenty to say about the entire process, what Bellinger means to the Cubs moving forward and how everything wound up coming together. Let's dive in and look at three quotes from the press conference that fans should note.

Conversations between Jed Hoyer and Scott Boras started back in July

On a one-year pillow deal last year, Bellinger re-established himself as a legitimate offensive force in Chicago. In the presser on Wednesday, Hoyer said that talks about keeping the former MVP with the Cubs actually got going last summer - laying the ground work for this offseason's eventual reunion.

"I think we started the conversation on this in July," said Hoyer. "I think Scott will attest: my comments to him about Cody have never wavered at all. I felt all along he's a great fit for this team, a great fit for the clubhouse."

Bellinger's numbers spoke for themselves in 2023 and played a huge role in the Cubs wanting him back this winter. But he also universally received glowing feedback on his presence in the clubhouse from teammates and coaches - and we know how much the organization prides itself on building a strong clubhouse culture.

Cody Bellinger wants to experience October baseball at Wrigley Field

There's no need to re-hash what happened last September. We all know what happened: the Cubs' playoff odds came crashing down to earth after sitting north of 90% a week into September and the team missed the postseason by one game.

Bellinger hasn't forgotten that and based on his comments Wednesday, he's very motivated to finish the job and help the Cubs return to the postseason in 2024.

"We were so close last year, got banged up at the end. We fought till the very end. For me to come back here with almost the same team, to experience the playoffs in Chicago is something I wanted to do ... it's a big part of the reason I wanted to come back here."

Bellinger posted an .827 OPS down the stretch over the season's final month, hitting six home runs and a half-dozen doubles for the Cubs. But that wasn't enough, with Chicago taking things down to the final day of the season before being eliminated from postseason contention. Now, he'll get a chance to lead the team back to October baseball - something we haven't seen at Wrigley Field in a full season since 2018.

Scott Boras and Jed Hoyer seem to have a decent working relationship

Boras often controls the top of the free agent market and perhaps at no time has that been clearer than this winter. The game's top three unsigned free agents - Jordan Montgomery, Matt Chapman and Blake Snell - are all Boras clients, as is Bellinger.

Much has been made not only of Boras' stranglehold on the market but the Cubs' refusal to play in the deep end of the free agent pool. That combination has led to speculation that perhaps Hoyer and Boras don't have a great relationship. But that didn't appear to be the case in Wednesday's press conference.

"Jed and I talk about a lot of things in baseball all the time," said Boras. "So we have a great communication system with the Cubs."

Boras isn't going away anytime soon and given Chicago represents one of the largest media markets and the Cubs are one of most valuable sports franchises in the world, connections will continue to be drawn between the two. Knowing they have a solid working relationship at least gives some peace of mind as a new contention window opens on the North Side.