Cody Bellinger spent a lot of July answering questions on whether or not or not he can be traded.
But because the Chicago Cubs received on a scorching streak and Bellinger continued placing up numbers that make him a very good guess to win National League Player of the Month, it grew to become apparent that President Jed Hoyer couldn’t deal the would-be free agent and nonetheless have the ability to present his face at Wrigley Field.
As the Cubs ready to play the first-place Cincinnati Reds on Monday, the eve of the Aug. 1 commerce deadline, supervisor David Ross confirmed what everybody anticipated — that Bellinger was sticking round for the remainder of the season.
A short while later, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the Cubs had acquired third baseman Jeimer Candelario from the Washington Nationals. The Cubs had been taking batting apply on the time, however afterward might go take a look at the information on MLB Trade Rumors, the favored on-line clearinghouse for baseball rumors. The Cubs confirmed the rumor, saying they despatched two prospects, left-handed pitcher DJ Herz and infielder Kevin Made, to the Nationals for Candelario, a former Cub hitting .258 with 16 dwelling runs, 53 RBI and an .823 OPS.
At this time of 12 months, MLB Trade Rumors is the place everybody in baseball turns for his or her repair.
“I’ve been on Trade Rumors,” Ross stated, referring to the location. “Listen, the one thing I do know is sitting in this seat and also reading articles, they go all over the place. I’m like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know we were doing that.’ I learned that there is just a lot flying (around).”
Did he know then that Bellinger was off the market?
“I learned that a couple days ago,” he stated. “I may have been ahead of the curve on that. That may be the only thing.”
Bellinger leads all main league hitters in July with a .406 common, 39 hits and 67 complete bases heading into Monday’s sport, whereas additionally topping all of baseball in slugging share (. 698) and OPS (1.137). He was third in dwelling runs (8) and second in RBI (24).
Considering the Los Angeles Dodgers non-tendered him final winter with out getting something in return, his comeback is likely one of the extra exceptional tales within the sport. After being below .500 the final two months, the Cubs entered Monday one sport over and again in playoff competition, thanks in no small half to Bellinger’s surge.
When knowledgeable that his supervisor had confirmed he was staying, Bellinger joked: “I thought it was confirmed (Sunday).”
Whether he thought he is likely to be gone, he stated making it official was a little bit of a aid. No last-minute packing to fret about.
“With a family now, it’s nice to stay put where we’re at,” Bellinger stated. “And to help this team win. It’s a fun team, a good team and that’s been the goal since Day One.”
Bellinger would have been one of the vital coveted place gamers obtainable, and as a pending free agent the Cubs would’ve been hard-pressed to rationalize holding him in the event that they fell out of competition. But they turned it on late within the month, culminating in an eight-game win streak that ended Sunday in St. Louis.
“Obviously we’re playing well and we’re in the picture and we’re going to fight now officially the rest of the year and try and win the division,” Bellinger stated. “That kind of was our goal from the get-go.”
Bellinger first addressed the potential for being dealt in Milwaukee on July 6, when the Cubs had been eight video games out of first place and headed to New York for a sequence in opposition to the Yankees.
“I definitely know what is possible,” he stated then. “I like being here, and focusing on helping this team, while I am here. Hopefully we could get on a little roll and stay together.”
The Cubs entered Monday with 15 wins of their final 22 video games, shifting to inside 4 video games of first place within the National League Central and three 1/2 from the final wild-card spot. Instead of being sellers, they had been now anticipated to make additions on the deadline.
“I said before I knew there were certain chances,” Bellinger stated Monday. “For me now, it’s nearly persevering with to win. Whether there are commerce rumors or not, the aim is to win each single day. We’ve received a very good crew that understands that. Same outdated enterprise from right here on out.
“Usually you just try and tune (the rumors) out. Obviously you know what’s out there, but trade rumors or not, you’ve got to go out and win.”
Like most baseball followers with a telephone or a pc, the gamers attempt to keep apprised of the newest by way of the MLB Trade Rumors web site, which was based by Tim Dierkes 18 years in the past. That means most gamers don’t even know what a commerce deadline was like earlier than the web site, once you needed to go to a number of completely different websites to seek out out who was probably going the place.
When I requested Dansby Swanson if he appeared on the web site, he laughed and stated: “Well, I do have a refresh button on my phone. It tends to get pressed. But there is a time and place to be on it and looking at what’s going on around the league, and there’s also a time to put it down and get your work done.”
Swanson then left the group interview to get his work achieved. Hoyer was already getting his work achieved, as everybody quickly found when the Candelario rumor grew to become actuality.
The greatest sequence of the season was about to start, and the Cubs added an influence hitter as a substitute of subtracting one.
Crazy sport. Crazy month. And it’s simply getting began for the Cubs.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com