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The Chicago Cubs begin their West Coast trip Friday with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where Seiya Suzuki is expected to make his season debut.
Here are four takeaways from series win over the Seattle Mariners.
With two three-year contracts in the books for Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ, president Jed Hoyer has made it clear the Cubs prefer short-term deals for free agents.
So who’s next?
Marcus Stroman has an opt-out after this season on his three-year, $71 million deal that pays him $21 million in 2024. Hoyer might want to lock Stroman up for a few more years before the pitcher decides to opt out for a long-term deal.
Cody Bellinger may be holding down center until prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is ready, which looks soon. Bellinger signed a one-year, $17.5 million deal with the Cubs with a mutual $24 million option for 2024.
The only other prominent potential free agent is Kyle Hendricks, who is rehabbing in Arizona after shoulder surgery and preparing for a minor-league rehab stint.
The Cubs obviously need to see Hendricks’ recovery before making a decision on his future. They hold a $16 million club option for 2024, but could pick that up and tack on more years if they believe he can return to form.
Hendricks didn’t know at the end of spring where his rehab would begin.
“Wherever it is, I’m just excited to get back into the game mode, competing, getting hitters in the box,” he said.
If he’s healthy, making Hendricks a Cub for life should be a no-brainer. He’s the only player left from the 2016 World Series champions and the only star from that team who was willing to sacrifice money on the free-agent market to stay in the organization.
Like Happ, Hendricks has always said he’s wanted to stay, but doesn’t dwell on being the last man standing from 2016.
“I keep it simple, focus on today and the present,” Hendricks told the Tribune. “When you reminisce, talking to some of your buddies now who are on other teams, that’s when it can come up. You think about it then. Yeah, it’s pretty weird and amazing, the turnover in the game, and it’s quicker and quicker as the years go by.
“At the end of the day, I’m so grateful for the time I’ve had. This organization has been amazing to me and I love everything about it — the fans, the atmosphere at Wrigley, everything. I’m just so grateful I’ve gotten this amount of time here, and I’m trying to focus on me getting back.”
Does Hendricks feel old?
“Definitely not,” he said laughing. “I’m 33, still young. The injury tried to make me feel old a little bit, but we’ve got all these young guys, and brought in some older guys than me, so that helps.”
Bellinger will get the homecoming treatment this weekend at Dodger Stadium when the former Los Angeles star returns home.
But first, Bellinger plans to stop on Thursday’s off day in Arizona, where his girlfriend, model Chase Carter, was almost ready to give birth to their second child. The pair announced the news on Instagram last October before Bellinger was non-tendered by the Dodgers and signed by the Cubs.
A fan favorite in Los Angeles, he lost favor with management after back-to-back offensive struggles in 2021 (. 542 OPS) and 2022 (. 654 OPS). After starting 0-for-11, Bellinger is 10-for-31 (. 323) with two home runs and 8 RBI over his last eight games this season.
After Wednesday’s game at Wrigley, Bellinger said he didn’t know what to expect when he stands at the plate for the first time as a Cub in Los Angeles.
“I’m sure in the moment it will all hit me,” he said. “But I’ve got to go home, go to Arizona, maybe have a baby, so that’s what I’m focused on right now.
“I’m excited to see the guys. A lot of good memories over there. I really don’t know what to expect, but I imagine I’ll be excited.”
The Cubs will also face Jason Heyward for the first time since the right fielder was released. In a strict platoon role with the Dodgers, Heyward has three home runs in his first 18 at-bats. Last year he finished with one homer in 137 at-bats.
The Cubs are paying Heyward $22 million in 2023, the final year of his eight-year, $184 million deal.
Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic capped off his big week in Chicago with a 482-foot home run into the right-center field upper deck, only a few feet away from what once were known as the Bill Veeck seats.
The only player to hit one there in the Statcast era since 2015 was Javier Báez, who cranked one to left-center against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 23, 2018.
“That was one of my dreams: to hit a ball like that with the wind blowing out,” Báez said that day. “Finally, we got it.”
The longest homer at Wrigley since 2015 was Kris Bryant’s 495-foot blast against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 6, 2015, according to Statcast. Kelenic’s shot was aided by a 19 mph wind, but it would’ve been out even if the wind was blowning in.
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MLB Network studio host Mark DeRosa, a former Cub second baseman, said on his show the only time he saw a ball land in the upper deck at Wrigley came during a batting practice session. That hitter was Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano, who had 24 career home runs.
“It doesn’t make sense,” DeRosa said of Kelenic’s shot.
The front row seats on the right side of the upper deck were the preferred seats for Veeck, the former baseball owner, and his entourage in the early 1980s. Veeck was boycotting old Comiskey Park after his sale of the team and regularly sat in the center field bleachers at Wrigley.
Since Dallas Green’s hardball tactics got the Cubs their lights at Wrigley Field in 1988, six Cubs presidents have enjoyed the benefits of night baseball: Don Grenesko, Andy MacPhail, John McDonough, Crane Kenney, Theo Epstein and now Hoyer.
But years of dimly lit corners couldn’t convince anyone to make a change in the lighting, until Kenney and Hoyer ushered in a plan this, replacing the 34-year-old fixtures with LED lights to make the field brighter and the Cubs more energy efficient.
The Cubs are now 2-0 under the new LED lights and have programmed them to flash on “W”s during a postgame light show after wins.
Energy efficiency was the Cubs’ purported goal in the lights switch. Now they can work on closing the windows in the press box when the air conditioning is running full blast.
