The Chicago Cubs made lots of progress in 2023. However, it's tough to appreciate it for several reasons. Not only did they fall out of the playoff picture in embarrassing fashion but one of their key contributors, Cody Bellinger, could leave. President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Bellinger took a one-year, prove-it deal with the Cubs and lived up to it. With his best season since his 2019 MVP campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he posted a .881 OPS (powered by a career-high .307 batting average), 97 RBI, 26 home runs, a career-best 20 stolen bases and a 15.7 percent strikeout percentage, also the best of his career.

The question for Bellinger now is if he wants to stick with a Cubs team that could be very competitive next year and that helped get him back to star form. It's not a bad option whatsoever but he could see some big offers from numerous teams this winter. Plus, rumors suggest that Chicago may turn to Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field and prioritize other needs than Bellinger.

In the Bellinger recruitment part no. 2, the star outfielder now knows the wonderful experience of calling Chicago home, according to Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press. Hoyer said that he loves the Cubs and the passionate fan base at Wrigley Field and will keep in touch with him and his agent, Scott Boras.

“He loves Wrigley Field and he loves the fans,” Hoyer said, via ESPN. “I think his experience was fantastic. Obviously, our experience with him was fantastic. We'd love to bring him back…I think you're always trying to sell free agents on what it's like to play in Chicago,” Hoyer said. “There's nothing better than having a guy experience it for a year and openly say he loves it. Certainly, it gives us a shot. We won't have to recruit him very hard. I think he knows what this place is all about.”

The Cubs have plenty of work to do with their roster, as Marcus Stroman could hit free agency along with Jeimer Candelario and the club has options for Kyle Hendricks and Yan Gomes. Chicago needs to look into potential upgrades at first base (hello, Pete Alonso?) and third base and keep the pitching staff strong around rising ace Justin Steele.