Cubs’ Best Cody Bellinger Backup Plans Named for Three Sluggers……..
With talks seemingly at a halt to bring back free agent Cody Bellinger and with Rhys Hoskins, an alternate target, recently signing a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs source Sahadev Sharma has identified three more free agents who could potentially be backup alternatives.
“Among the available free agents, Bellinger is the most suitable… However, Sharma wrote for The Athletic that he isn’t the only athlete still available who could be of use. If Rhys Hoskins was a fit, then J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner are too. In light of the fact that left-handers are the main focus, Brandon Belt makes sense as a backup.
The Cubs appear to be hesitant to trade for Bellinger after his impressive 2023 Comeback Player of the Year campaign in which he hit.307/.525/.881 with 26 home runs, despite his $200 million asking price. And there’s a good chance the team will look elsewhere to meet needs for power and a left-handed look in the lineup if they are unwilling to pay top price for one of the greatest free agents still available.
While Turner’s on-base percentage of.276/.345/.455 did not match Bellinger’s from the previous season, he still possesses similar power as evidenced by his 23 home runs for 2023. This offseason, a one-year contract for $12 million is anticipated for him.
Martinez, who is 36 years old, will only be able to play DH in 2024, but he has the potential to smash more home runs than Turner or Bellinger. He had 33 long balls in the previous season and is looking for a multi-year contract with an average salary of $16 million.
Belt is the only left-handed batter on Sharma’s list and can replace Bellinger at first base or in the outfield, but he didn’t show the power of Martinez or Turner last season. In addition, he is the least expensive.
In the end, Bellinger has a greater potential impact on the upcoming season than any of these other possibilities. They could fill up a few gaps in the Cubs’ lineup, but there’s a good reason Bellinger is demanding so much more money.
But one more Cubs-related alternative could be sufficient in addition to a backup slugger.
Matt Chapman, a free agent third baseman, has been mentioned as the Cubs’ backup option to Bellinger. He plays a different position, is right-handed, and had a lower average and fewer home runs in 2023 than Bellinger did. But given his superior defensive abilities at third base, he could be able to help the Cubs with some of their most pressing issues. In 2023, the Cubs’ hot corner fielding percentage of.954 was considerably below league average.
Therefore, the Cubs may finally decide to go in some combination of using Chapman and a more affordable power hitter.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote, “If Bellinger signs elsewhere, the Cubs could turn to the right-handed Chapman and perhaps seek another left-handed bat some other way.”
For Heavy.com, Peter Chawaga writes about Major League Baseball. With over ten years of expertise in news writing and editing, this longtime baseball enthusiast has had his work featured in national newspapers, magazines, and websites. His baseball writing has appeared in several publications, including Yardbarker and Last Word On Sports.
