Player Review: Cody Bellinger

By: Matt Rhodes

Bellinger, or Smellinger?

The best way to describe Cody Bellinger’s 2024 season is he existed. Bellinger failed to match his 2023 success but was able to pretty much meet projections in his 2024 campaign. Bellinger accumulated a servicable 2.2 fWAR and 109 wRC+ this season. Bellinger’s outfield defense stayed right around expected as he produced a 0 DRS and -1 OAA. His average exit velocity in 2024 stayed exactly the same as his 2023 rate, so what was the difference maker for Bellinger this season in comparison to last? That is a complicated question, but a strong contributing factor could be the drastic drop in his lauch angle sweet-spot percentage. His launch angle sweet-spot percentage dropped from 86th percentile to 34th in 2024.

Bellinger is a tricky player to grade because some fans had unrealistic expectations for Bellinger in 2024, he was never going to match his 2023 success. If you are someone who grades a player based off preseason projections he did about what you’d expect. Bellinger’s 2024 campaign is a model of what I believe his talent level is at the moment, a slightly better than average player. The main knock on Bellinger is that he is being paid to produce a lot more than he did in 2024, I chalk that up to more of a Jed Hoyer problem than a Bellinger problem. Cody Bellinger opting out this offseason could be a massive way for the Cubs to free payroll and elevate the roster for 2025.

Player Grade: C

Though he certainly did not play poorly, he was far from producing at a 27 million dollar level. Whether or not Bellinger chooses to opt in will surely play a huge factor in how this offseason will look for the Chicago Cubs.

Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune