Sources: Cody Bellinger, Cubs agree on 3-year, $80M deal

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, has 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.

SNIP

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.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39596106/cody-bellinger-cubs-agree-3-year-80-million-deal

You've got to love this: "Bellinger reached free agency in hopes of securing a mega-contract ... a robust market never materialized" ... suggesting $80 million is no longer a "mega-contract."