Chicago Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger declined his end of a $25 million mutual option for 2024 on Friday as expected and will test the free-agent market coming off a bounce-back season. The 2019 NL MVP, Bellinger is in line for a huge payday after hitting .307 with 26 homers and 97 RBIs. It was quite a turnaround for a player cut by the Los Angeles Dodgers in November after being limited by injuries and experiencing a drastic decline on offense.