Cody Bellinger will be back with the Cubs in 2025.

The 29-year-old is not exercising the opt-out in his 3-year contract he signed prior to the 2024 campaign, per sources, and will return to the Cubs next season. The 3-year, $80 million deal included opt-outs after 2024 and 2025.

The decision isn’t a total surprise — injuries hampered his 2024 campaign, limiting him to just 130 games where he hit a respectable .266/.325/.426 with 18 home runs, 78 RBI and a 109 wRC+. There was some speculation that Bellinger could opt out and retest his market, but ultimately the lefty chose to return to Chicago.

“When we signed that deal in late February, we knew that if he had a good year, we knew that he would have a lot of options,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his end-of-season press conference. “And he had a good year, and so I think he’ll have options.”

[MORE: The latest on Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner]

Ultimately, Bellinger chose to return to what’s been home for him the last two years.

He likely will be the Cubs everyday right fielder, where he won a Gold Glove with the Dodgers in 2019. That would move Seiya Suzuki to the designated hitter role, with Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field and Ian Happ in left field.

As the Cubs look to breakthrough the 83-win threshold that they’ve stagnated at the last two seasons, they’re searching for internal breakouts to help them do so. There may be no better candidate than Bellinger.

The 2019 NL MVP has a past track record of performing at an elite level. The Cubs saw that firsthand in 2023. Much of their offensive success that year, Bellinger was seemingly at the forefront of it. He posted a 4.4 fWAR season, hitting .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs, 97 RBI and a 136 wRC+.

[MORE: Cubs hiring a familiar face as new third base coach]

If Bellinger can stay healthy, it could lead to a season like 2023 and could be the exact type of player to help the Cubs break out and reach the playoffs in 2025.

“How do we put our players in a position to outperform? How do we put them in position to continue to improve? I think that is the focus,” Hoyer said. “Because ultimately, our players are going to have sort of a baseline level of talent. They’re going to project a certain place. How do we create an environment where they can outperform and do better?

“And I think that’s the time we spend on it. We have to beat projections. We have to have players outperform. Because, like I said, ultimately, having players outperform, having players beat those projections, that’s how you have the season that we want to have.”