ST. LOUIS – Cody Bellinger was aware of what the trade deadline could mean for him, as a player performing well on a pillow contract, back when the Cubs were looking at a steep climb to the top of the division. But even then, he brought up the possibility of a run that would keep this group together.
“I truly believe that this team has definitely what it takes,” he said almost four weeks ago.
He was onto something.
Conversations in the Cubs front office have shifted to supplementing a group that has proven it can compete for the division. That turn has squashed the trade rumors that Bellinger has had to address all month.
Even after their 3-0 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, the Cubs (53-52) sat four games back of the NL Central-leading Reds and 3 ½ games back in the wild card standings. That was an impressive feat, considering about a week and a half ago, the Cubs were 8 ½ games back in the division. But they won eight straight games, the clubs’ longest winning streak since 2016.
Bellinger has been a big part of the Cubs’ resurgence. He entered Sunday leading the majors in hits (38), batting average (.413) and OPS (1.164) this month.
“I think a lot of it is understanding my body and how my body moves and when it’s moving right, and when it’s not moving, right,” he said Sunday, taking a broader view of his development as a hitter.
Bellinger hitting for power the way he has in July, as he belted eight homers, helped balance the Cubs lineup. But he also said he wasn’t concerned about his lack of power when he first came back from a month on the IL with a bone bruise in his left knee. Soon after, he put together a career-high 13-game hitting streak starting in late June. Until the last two games of that stretch, his extra-base hits were few and far between.
“I felt like my swing was in a pretty good spot,” Bellinger said before the All-Star break. “And just continued swinging, and swinging at the pitches I want, and over time, it should work out.”
There’s another way to think about Bellinger’s dip in average exit velocity this season.
“He hits some balls that aren’t hit super hard, but they’re placed perfectly,” hitting coach Dustin Kelly told the Sun-Times. “And to the outside world, some of that looks like luck, but in our world, it’s skill. And he has the ability to tone down his swing.”
Kelly uses the analogy of a golf bag. Bellinger has a full set of clubs, and uses all of them. Sometimes the matchup, situation and pitch call for a 5 iron instead of a driver.
“I don’t know if I can actually explain it,” Bellinger said. “It’s just something that I do. And it’s something I’ve done. And there’s a lot of times where I am out on that swing, but it’s like, ‘Dang, if I just stayed through it a little bit longer, I have a base hit.’”
For Bellinger, it goes back to body control. And it’s a skill that bodes well for him extending his first-half success through the rest of the season. No hitter is going to be in rhythm for an entire year, but the best ones find ways to still contribute during those lulls.
When Bellinger came back from IL in mid-June, the Cubs knew the injury could affect his power. But they trusted it would come back with time and a subtle tweak to his setup.
“I’m pretty vocal with DK and the strength coaches,” Bellinger said, “and hopefully get right back on track. That’s the goal, to get right back on track, and I’ve done a pretty good job of that this year.”
They noticed he was a little more straight up and stiff in his back leg.
“Once we made that little adjustment,” Kelly said, “it got him back into a really powerful, good spot.”
For a team in need of a boost, the timing couldn’t have been better.