Cubs ‘waiting’ on FA Bellinger for contract talks

MESA, Ariz. — Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said on Monday the team is “waiting” on free agent Cody Bellinger and his agent, Scott Boras, to engage in contract negotiations. Though the sides have had “discussions,” according to Ricketts, full-blown negotiations have yet to take place.

“I’m like everyone else,” Ricketts said on report day for position players. “We’re just waiting. Waiting for whenever he and his agent are going to engage. It could be any time now or it could be in a few weeks. We’ll see where it goes.”

Bellinger won comeback player of the year last season with Chicago after hitting .307 with 26 home runs. It came after a couple of down seasons with the Dodgers while the former MVP dealt with lingering effects of a shoulder injury.

Ricketts was asked if he had talked with Boras about his client this winter.

“I don’t talk to Scott,” Ricketts said. “One of his signature moves is to go talk to the owner. When you do that, you undermine the credibility of your GM. Inserting yourself into that negotiation, I don’t think that helps. I don’t talk to him.”

Boras pushed back on Ricketts’ assessment, noting that the Cubs called him on Bellinger last offseason.

“Free Agency is about recruiting players,” Boras told ESPN. “It’s the normal owner’s signature move to be involved in the efforts of recruiting players and reaching out to me so I can convey to the player the ownership of the team covets them. That is the essence of Free Agency and it is a custom and practice for ownership to express commitment and involvement.

“When Cody was a Free Agent last year the Cubs engaged and were very aggressive in their pursuit. And their process is no different this year. So I am not clear as to what Tom is suggesting.”

Very few Boras clients have signed multiyear deals with the Cubs. In fact, it has been at least a decade since the team signed or extended a Boras client to anything but a one-year contract.

“There has been some discussions but it hasn’t become a negotiation yet,” Ricketts said about Bellinger. “Until they are ready to negotiate, there’s not much we can do. We just have to wait for when it gets serious before talking about what the end money amounts are.”

In other words, the Cubs aren’t willing to extend an offer within the parameters set by Boras, believed to be well over $200 million, according to sources earlier in the offseason, so the waiting game continues. The team doesn’t have a problem with that.

“It’s not like we’ll say, ‘Now we’re going to go for it,'” Ricketts said of a big money outlay to a player. “We’re trying to be consistent. The goal is to be one of the teams that’s always trying to win and every year has that opportunity.”

The Cubs made only a couple of mid-level moves this winter, adding starter Shota Imanaga and reliever Hector Neris while trading for rookie corner infielder Michael Busch. They still have a big hole from the left side of the batter’s box. Bellinger would help.

“I think Jed had a really good offseason,” Ricketts said. “We’ve added some parts that are going to be beneficial to the whole. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be favored for our division this year.”

Ricketts pointed to last season’s World Series representative from the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks, as proof that high payrolls and lofty preseason predictions don’t mean a lot. In fact, he’s well aware that the bottom seed in the NL has reached the Fall Classic in each of the last four full seasons.

“That’s the beauty of baseball,” Ricketts stated. “You don’t have to have the highest payroll or the biggest stars. If you’re playing well, anybody can beat anybody. I was happy for the Diamondbacks.”

Asked what it would take to increase payroll — the Cubs are at around $200 million right now — Ricketts quipped “more revenue.”

The longtime owner isn’t focused on what the team doesn’t have — just what they can do with the roster they do have.

“We’re right there at CBT (Competitive Balance Tax) levels,” he said. “It’s kind of our natural place for us. That should be enough to win our division and be consistent every year.”