Yankees, Astros, Mariners Have All Checked on Cody Bellinger
It’s gotten to the point where a Cody Bellinger trade seems more likely than not. I’ve been of that opinion for a while now and I believe the Cubs had long been planning for the eventuality that he’d opt in, even though they preferred for him to test the open market. The front office won’t have a problem finding takers on a deal for the former MVP with one year and $32.5 million guaranteed on his current deal, it’s just a matter of what they want to get back in return.
If it’s a straight salary dump, which I don’t believe is the case, the Cubs can simply accept a very slight return. The more likely outcome is that the front office opts to eat a little money in exchange for a prospect with a bit more upside. They could also consider packaging Bellinger together with Nico Hoerner, Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, or someone else to juice their haul.
A lot of it comes down to Juan Soto‘s choice and how the teams he spurns choose to react. Recent speculation appears to be trending away from both the Dodgers and Yankees, only the latter of whom are a realistic destination for Bellinger. That’s been an obvious possibility for a while given their short porch in right and the decision not to pick up Anthony Rizzo‘s option. Soto going elsewhere would also open up room in the outfield.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Bruce Levine named the Yankees as one of the three teams to have checked in on Bellinger recently. Astute readers will have already picked up on the other two from the title, but those of you who prefer to skip the headlines and get right into the meat of the story might like to know that the Astros and Mariners have inquired as well.
Houston is another destination that has come up quite frequently this offseason, but Seattle is a newer entry to the conversation that makes a little sense as well. They’ve had preliminary talks with the Cubs about Nico Hoerner but are said to be seeking corner infielders rather than middle men. Bellinger would be a much better fit in that regard, except his salary is too high to even consider asking for one of the Mariners’ starting pitchers.
Hoerner wouldn’t be enough on his own to keep Seattle baseball boss Jerry Dipoto from laughing them off the line for talking Logan Gilbert or George Kirby, and packaging him with Bellinger would be even worse. Maybe that’s why the Cubs may be working on a way to leverage the White Sox in a three-team deal that could see Garrett Crochet matriculating a few miles north.
This is all a big Rube Goldberg choose-your-own-adventure device at this point, one with so many possible outcomes that not even those closest to these talks know how everything will play out. Soto’s decision will remove a lot of possibilities, then it’s just a matter of how aggressive Jed Hoyer is really willing to get.