The latest on Cody Bellinger trade talks? Well, it’s still a game of financial chicken, per reports. The Cubs want the Yankees to take his contract, while the Yankees want the Cubs to eat upwards of $10+ million of the contract.
The Yankees, of course, would like everyone to know they have other options:
Still a $ gap in Bellinger trade talk with Yankees and Cubs as of this minute. It???s a matter of ???who blinks first,??? if ever. Still could happen but Yanks also considering Alonso, Walker, C. Santana, J. Naylor, N. Lowe, probably others.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 15, 2024Sure, sure, yes, yes. Never mind the fact that the Yankees are ALSO short a starting-caliber outfielder, and Cody Bellinger happens to help them at first base AND in the outfield, all while providing a lefty bat that’s perfect for Yankee Stadium.
Indeed, Ken Rosenthal today says, “It???s (just) a financial negotiation (at this point). I expect at some point Bellinger will be a Yankee.”
Of note, Rosenthal says he doesn’t believe the Yankees will wind up taking full freight on the deal, and Jon Heyman previously reported that the Cubs and Yankees were some $10 million apart on that financial negotiation. So there’s work to be done there.
Will that difference scuttle a deal? Rosenthal apparently doesn’t think so, and I tend to agree with him. Even if the Yankees ultimately walk away, I still think there will be acceptable landing spots for Bellinger, especially if the Cubs are putting some money on the table.
When asked if there was a chance the Cubs could actually keep Cody Bellinger going forward, here’s what Cubs GM Carter Hawkins told Jordan Bastian: “Belli’s a good player. He’s a really good player and he’s been a really good player for a long time. And you can figure out ways to get good, versatile players into a lineup. Finding a place for Cody Bellinger to play is not a concern.”
My instinct there is to dismiss the comments as the kind of thing a GM has to say in this situation. You cannot announce to the world that you have no choice but to make a trade, especially if you’re already in a staring contest with a possible trade partner.
The reality is that there are only a few possible paths by which keeping Bellinger (and his contract) on the roster makes any sense at all, and even then, all three really stretch the definition of “makes any sense at all.”
Possibility number one: The Cubs trade Seiya Suzuki.
This one is a stretch for all the reasons we’ve been saying for weeks since this rumor first popped up: he’s got a no-trade clause, he’s one of the best Cubs bats, and he’s a highly-respected Japanese star.
There’s also the whole fact that, now that the Cubs have Kyle Tucker, trading Suzuki doesn’t actually open up a starting spot for Bellinger! He’d have to move between right field, center field, first base, and DH, which is fine and all, but is hardly the most efficient use of resources.
You’d love to have Bellinger on the roster in a world where Suzuki’s been dealt – he provides lots of important just-in-case-of-disastrous-injury value, in addition to moving around if everyone’s healthy – but it seems like he’d have way more value out on the market than with the Cubs.
Possibility number two: The Cubs trade Michael Busch.
The one-to-one of it here is pretty obvious – Bellinger would simply take over at first base – but does it make any sense? Busch played great defense at first this past year, and also hit as well as Bellinger. Why would you trade away a cheaper, younger, longer-controlled, and maybe-better player in order to keep Bellinger?
It’s pretty close to nonsense unless some trade popped up and the other team just desperately and specifically had to have Busch.
Possibility number three: The Cubs trade Nico Hoerner and move Michael Busch to second base.
This is one of those on-paper moves that you can imagine improving the team, but it’s not 100% clear that Busch could play high-quality defense at second base – so you might improve your offense a little with this route, but you might give much of that different right back on defense.
My gut says the Cubs just wouldn’t do this, and even if they did, it might not be because they want Bellinger at first base. It could be that they wanted to pursue some other bigger bat. Either way, it’s super unlikely.
All in all, could the Cubs keep Bellinger? If they were absolutely forced to, I suppose they could. But without one of those alternative trades, it would REALLY make no sense. And since each of those trade scenarios seems pretty unlikely, I don’t see a realistic universe where the Cubs keep Bellinger.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Obsessive Cody Bellinger Trade Watch: Eventually a Yankee? Could Cubs Actually Keep Him? )
Also on site :
- Bomb alert on Ryanair plane carrying 170 passengers as holiday flight lands in Belgium & ‘cordon set up’
- Toyota’s legendary look returns to where it all began.
- Valladolid vs Girona Prediction , lineups and free online live stream