The Chicago Cubs have started 2025 very strong to the tune of a 55-38 record, good for first place in the National League Central and the second-best record in the NL.

It feels long ago that Cody Bellinger was a key part of this Chicago Cubs lineup.Signed ahead of the 2023 season to a prove it deal, the slugger won the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award by slashing .307/.356/.525 with 26 homers and 97 RBI that earned him his first MVP votes since he was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 2019.That performance caused him to decline his mutual option, hitting the open market in hopes of securing a long-term megadeal.More News: Former Cubs Manager Famous for Obscenity-Ridden Rant Against Fans Passes Away at 87Nobody was willing to hand Bellinger that type of contract, though, and he returned in 2024 on a three-year, $80 million deal that contained opt-out clauses after each of the first two seasons.Bellinger still performed well last year, but he wasn't quite the same player with a slash line of .266/.325/.426, 18 homers and 78 RBI.So when he opted into his $27.5 million player option for the 2025 campaign, the writing was on the wall that the Cubs were going to offload his contract.More News: Cubs Listed As Trade Fit for $120 Million Red Sox Superstar in Unique PositionIn what was essentially a salary dump, Chicago traded him to the New York Yankees.That came back to haunt them in a major way on Friday, with Bellinger getting his revenge on the Cubs by hitting three homers against them, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit three long balls in the first game against his former team.Of course, the decision to part ways with Bellinger has worked out for Chicago.It cleared up space for Pete Crow-Armstrong to be the everyday center fielder, giving him the runway to become the rising superstar that he has been throughout this season.More News: Cubs Prospect Could Be Key to Landing Pirates’ All‑Star AceLooking back, Chicago likely would have loved to have gotten more for Bellinger.They only received Cody Poteet in that trade, a reliever who is no longer with the team and never appeared in a Major League game for the franchise after they designated him for assignment before Opening Day and ultimately traded him to the Baltimore Orioles.For more Cubs news, head over to Cubs On SI.This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/cubs as Cody Bellinger Gets Revenge on Cubs by Setting Major League Baseball History.

Cody Bellinger smashes three home runs against the Cubs, then receives a curtain call from Yankees fans.

Chicago’s Matthew Boyd won a matchup of All-Star left-handers as Max Fried left early because of yet another blister on his pitching hand, and the Cubs stopped the New York Yankees’ five-game winning...

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New York Yankees star Aaron Judge added another impressive accomplishment to his collection in Saturday's loss against the Chicago Cubs (box score), launching his 35th home run of the season and the 350th of his career.

Judge's 350th career home run came in his 1,088th game -- beating the previous mark set by Mark McGwire who needed 1,280 games to hit the milestone.