Scott Boras gets another Cubs-Cody Bellinger question and it’s exhausting

All signs - both rumors circulating around the GM Meetings and in public statements from Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins - have the Chicago Cubs focused almost solely on pitching heading into the offseason.

It makes sense. The club pieced their way to the fifth game of the NLDS before falling to the rival Milwaukee Brewers, but were clearly shorthanded on the pitching side of the equation. With a mass free agent exodus in the bullpen and Shota Imanaga now a free agent who is expected to decline the qualifying offer, their need is greater than ever.

But that shouldn't take away from the fact that this is a team that's likely going to lose Kyle Tucker in free agency, subtracting a major piece from the offensive puzzle. If the front office wanted to inject a big bat into the mix to replace him, it could, and Scott Boras was asked about Cody Bellinger as such a piece this week in Las Vegas.

“I think everybody learns that if you know a player who’s 28, 29 [years old] and you know he’s had an .880 OPS in your city, and he performs well there, it’s a real advantage. Because there’s a surety to you bringing someone there that you know has already performed at an elite level. That is an advantage that most free agent relationships do not have.”

Reunion between Cubs, Cody Bellinger makes no sense for anyone

OK, sure. There's familiarity between the Cubs and Bellinger, but the only way they got him back for a second year was his market completely bottoming out following his bounce-back 2023 campaign. And his second stint in Chicago didn't go nearly as well as the first, with his bWAR going from 4.8 to 2.2 and his OPS+ falling by 33 points.

So if he's looking for a major long-term deal (and all signs point to that being the case), he's almost guaranteed to sign with a team other than the Cubs this winter. And, to boot, the fit is iffy, at best, with Pete Crow-Armstrong in center and Michael Busch locked in at first. Sure, you could slot him into right field maybe - or have him DH - but Chicago seems content with Seiya Suzuki returning to right full-time in 2026 and seeing what it has in top prospects Moises Ballesteros and Owen Caissie.

You can ask the question, and you can hash it out with your friends at the bar. But if you're sinking nearly $150 million into a player this winter, it better be a top-shelf starting pitcher - because it's clear that's the Cubs' biggest need if they want to return to the postseason next year.