Connect with us

Published

on

Center fielder Cody Bellinger and the Cubs are in agreement on a three-year, $80 million contract, sources told ESPN, ending a prolonged free agency with a return engagement after his excellent 2023 season with Chicago.

Bellinger, 28, will receive opt-outs after the first and second years of the deal, sources said. He will receive a $30 million salary this season, $30 million in 2025 (if he doesn’t opt out after the first year) and $20 million in 2026 (if he doesn’t opt out after the second year), according to sources.

Coming off a season in which he hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs, Bellinger reached free agency in hopes of securing a mega-contract. A robust market never materialized, and Bellinger took a similar path to that of Carlos Correa, with whom he shares an agent in Scott Boras.

Before the 2022 season, Correa signed a three-year, $105 million contract with Minnesota when no team offered a longer-term deal he deemed worth signing. Correa opted out after the first season and returned to the Twins on a six-year, $200 million deal after medical issues scuttled agreements with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. Bellinger’s deal is pending a physical.

Bellinger’s health in 2023 allowed him to thrive in a season that earned him National League Comeback Player of the Year. Finishing 10th in NL MVP voting, Bellinger nearly halved his strikeout rate from previous seasons and proved adept against left-handed pitching as well, hitting .337 against them with a .984 OPS.

Before joining the Cubs, Bellinger was coming off two down seasons after he was hampered by a lingering shoulder injury from the 2020 playoffs. And even though he produced the lowest average exit velocity of his career in 2023 — just 87.9 mph — Bellinger often cut down on his swing with two strikes, making softer contact but avoiding strikeouts. His whiff rate plummeted to a career-low 15.6% as he hit .279 with two strikes, second in all of baseball behind Luis Arraez.

Bellinger returns to a Cubs team that has patiently waited out a free agent market that still includes NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, World Series star Jordan Montgomery and All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman. After signing left-hander Shota Imanaga to a four-year, $53 million deal, the Cubs added reliever Hector Neris on a one-year, $9 million deal. Chicago also traded for former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Michael Busch, who will compete for the first-base job.

Bellinger can play there or center, and the Cubs valued the versatility last season, using him 84 times in the outfield and 59 times in the infield. He established himself as a dual-position star with the Dodgers, with whom he won NL Rookie of the Year in 2017 and was NL Most Valuable Player in 2019 after hitting .305/.406/.629.

He fell off in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and spiraled worse in 2021, hitting .165/.240/.302 with 10 home runs in 95 games. With his health still in question during the 2022 season, he batted .210/.265/.389 with 19 home runs in 144 games and was non-tendered by the Dodgers that season.

Bellinger went to Chicago for $17.5 million, won a Silver Slugger, opted out of a $25 million option for this season and entered a market that looked promising for the best hitter available. General managers deemed the initial price tag too high, and as Bellinger remained on the market, the number of teams committed to spending money shrunk.

Teams have pointed to the uncertainty of local-television broadcast rights as an impetus not to spend. Aside from the Dodgers — who committed well over $1 billion — no team has exceeded the $200 million mark in free agent spending.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Longtime Islanders forward Clutterbuck retires

Published

on

By

Longtime Islanders forward Clutterbuck retires

Longtime New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday after 17 seasons.

Clutterbuck, 37, spent his last 11 seasons with the Islanders before sitting out the 2024-25 season.

“Hockey gave me everything — a purpose, a brotherhood, and a lifetime of memories,” Clutterbuck wrote on Instagram. “To (longtime linemates) Matt (Martin) and Casey (Cizikas) — it was an honor to go to war with you night in and night out. What we built together means more than words can say. And to the Islanders faithful — your passion, loyalty, and love made Long Island home. Thank you all. On to the next chapter.”

Clutterbuck, who is the NHL’s all-time hits leader with 4,029, recorded 293 points (143 goals, 150 assists) and 698 penalty minutes in 1,064 career games with the Minnesota Wild and Islanders.

The Ontario native was selected by the Wild in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft.

Continue Reading

Sports

Bruins CEO vows return to playoffs next season

Published

on

By

Bruins CEO vows return to playoffs next season

Boston Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs vowed that his team would return to the playoffs next season despite finishing in last place and trading away several players at the deadline.

“We’ve spoken at great length about this: The team that we currently have, [if] healthy and with the additions we intend to make this summer, I anticipate that we’ll have a playoff team and play meaningful hockey at this time of year in 2026,” he said.

The Bruins were last in the Atlantic Division (76 points) with their lowest standings points percentage (.463) in 18 seasons. The team fired head coach Jim Montgomery 20 games into the season and traded popular veteran players such as captain Brad Marchand, center Charlie Coyle and defenseman Brandon Carlo at the deadline.

“We fell way short and it’s disappointing for us,” team president Cam Neely said. “It’s disappointing for our fan base. They deserve better. They’ve supported us for a hundred-plus years. This gives us an opportunity to regroup a little bit, reset and build back better.”

GM Don Sweeney laid out a plan for that quick build back to contention. The first target is to add more offense, specifically on the wings.

“The scoring potential of our group needs to be increased and addressed this summer,” said Sweeney, whose team was 28th in the NHL in goals per game despite a 43-goal campaign from star David Pastrnak.

Sweeney said he wants the Bruins to get back to their core identity of being a strong defensive team in front of effective goaltending. Both Jeremy Swayman, in the first year of an eight-year, $66 million contract extension, and Joonas Korpisalo were in the negatives for goals saved above expected this season.

“Our goaltenders previously have been really, really good. This year, they weren’t as good. That’s fact. And our team in front of them didn’t defend with the same level of conviction,” he said.

Then there’s the aspect the Bruins hope turns around for next season: health. Key defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm both missed significant time last season.

To orchestrate all of this, Sweeney and Neely have to decide on the next head coach of the Bruins. Joe Sacco went 25-30-7 as an interim coach. Sweeney said Sacco has been informed that there will be a coaching search and that he’ll be a finalist for the job. The coaching search process is underway for Boston.

Sacco led the Avalanche to a 130-134-40 record from 2009-2014 and was a finalist for coach of the year in his first season. He spent 10 years as a Bruins assistant before being promoted for the rest of the season when Jim Montgomery was fired.

Sweeney is facing some uncertainty himself. He has been the Bruins’ general manager since May 2015, but is entering the last year of his contract. Neely said he’s debating whether or not to extend Sweeney.

“I’m still contemplating what the best course of action is. I really feel like Don has done a good job here, for the most part,” Neely said.

Continue Reading

Sports

Avs’ Landeskog, out 3 years, could return Game 3

Published

on

By

Avs' Landeskog, out 3 years, could return Game 3

DENVER — Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog could play in his first NHL game in nearly three years on Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars.

Landeskog was the first player to take the ice at morning practice ahead of Game 3. He went through a series of shooting drills before his teammates joined him. Should Landeskog play, it would be his first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to capture the Stanley Cup. He has been sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.

“We’ll see,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said about the possibility of Landeskog suiting up. Earlier in the day on Altitude Sports Radio — the station for the Avalanche — Bednar said, “There’s a good chance that he’s going to play tonight.”

Asked what criteria he would use in making a determination, Bednar simply responded: “Gut feeling.”

Colorado’s first-round series with Dallas is tied at 1-1.

Landeskog’s presence on the ice could provide a big boost not only for his teammates but also for the capacity crowd. His No. 92 sweater is a frequent sight around the arena.

“Everyone is rooting for him. It’s a great comeback story,” Bednar said after morning skate. “I trust in Gabe’s preparation, and what I’m seeing with my own eyes that he’s getting close and ready to play. I think he feels really good about where he’s at.

“Adding him back into our locker room, he’s almost an extension of the coaching staff, but he’s still one of the guys and the guy that everyone looks up to. You can’t get enough of that this time of the year.”

Landeskog’s injury goes back to the 2020 “bubble” season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of teammate Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.

He was activated Monday before Game 2 in Dallas and skated in pregame warmups but didn’t play.

Stars forward Matt Duchene was teammates with Landeskog and they remain good friends.

“We’ve been rooting for him to come back,” said Duchene, who was the third overall pick by Colorado in 2009. “Obviously, it makes our job harder having a guy like that out there, but on the friends side, the human side and the fellow athlete side, I think everyone’s happy to see the progress he’s made. … I’m just really happy that he’s gotten to this point.”

The 32-year-old Landeskog recently went through a two-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles. He has practiced with the Avalanche leading up to their opener in the NHL playoffs.

“He’s looking good so we’ll see where things go,” Makar said. “For him, I know it’s going to be a huge night when he does play. It’s going to be really exciting for us to have him back in the room and have the captain back.”

Continue Reading

Trending