Cody Bellinger Rumors: Blue Jays Emerge as Favorites for MLB Star; Cubs Still in Mix

It appears the Toronto Blue Jays are the leaders to land free agent slugger Cody Bellinger.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Toronto Blue Jays have "emerged as the favorite" for Bellinger, although the Chicago Cubs do remain a candidate for his services.

Bellinger just wrapped up a one-year deal with the Cubs following a six-season tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is a two-time All-Star, a World Series champion and was the 2019 NL MVP.

Bellinger had a resurgent 2023 season on the North Side, hitting .307 with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs. He also had 20 stolen bases, finished 10th in MVP voting and won a Silver Slugger award.

This sets him up to get quite the payday this offseason and Toronto has seemingly been looking to throw some cash around to improve the team. The Blue Jays were in on two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani until the end of his free agency, and Bellinger would be a strong pickup following this.

Toronto went 89-73 in 2023 and reached the playoffs, falling to the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card round. This was Toronto's third postseason appearance in four seasons, but the team has failed to win a playoff round during this run.

The AL East also appears to be an arms race, with the New York Yankees acquiring Juan Soto, the Baltimore Orioles looking like a formidable force for the foreseeable future and the Boston Red Sox being in on Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Signing Bellinger would help the Blue Jays keep pace and potentially grab a division crown in the near future.