Which teams could land top slugger Cody Bellinger? - ESPN

When agent Scott Boras has multiple puns ready about a free agent of his, it usually means he has a good one. That certainly is the case for 28-year-old Cody Bellinger, who possesses the best left-handed production of any player left available.

Bellinger, at least according to Boras, is the «belle of the ball» this winter after providing a «full Belly» for the Chicago Cubs last season, winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award and a Silver Slugger. Now, it's time for him to cash in after signing a one-year, $17.5 million contract with Chicago before the 2023 season.

That doesn't mean anything is close at hand for the 2019 NL MVP, though, as the history of bigger-name Boras clients suggests a drawn-out affair. Bellinger isn't likely to be celebrating Christmas or even New Year's with his new team.

«My experience with [Boras] is that he asks for a big number of dollars and years and doesn't budge for quite a while,» one NL executive said. «He's not afraid to carry a guy into February or March as a free agent. Then he figures it only takes one team to blink and they usually do.»

So who's going to blink on Bellinger?

Several left-handed sluggers have already changed teams or signed free agent contracts this offseason. The New York Yankees checked a desperately needed box with the acquisition of Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed MLB's top free agent, Shohei Ohtani, to a $700 million deal. And the San Francisco Giants inked Korea Baseball Organization MVP Jung Hoo Lee.

Those moves leave the Toronto Blue Jays and Cubs — teams that came up short in the Ohtani sweepstakes — as Bellinger's potential top suitors. Boras has made his sales pitch to teams