The Cubs made a massive splash on the trade market yesterday when they landed star outfielder Kyle Tucker is a blockbuster deal with the Astros. The club surrendered a hefty package of All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes, 2024 first-rounder Cam Smith, and right-handed youngster Hayden Wesneski in order to make the deal, however, and the loss of Paredes in particular may have changed some of the club’s offseason plans.
Second baseman Nico Hoerner has reportedly been available in trade talks this winter, with the Mariners in particular being said to have interest in the infielder. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, however, it’s possible that the club’s thinking involving Hoerner has changed in the aftermath of yesterday’s deal with the Astros. Rosenthal notes that the Cubs were motivated to trade from their infield mix in order to open up playing time for top prospect Matt Shaw, who hit a sensational .298/.395/.534 in a late-season cup of coffee at the Triple-A level and appears ready to make the jump to the major leagues.
Shaw was drafted as a shortstop, but is a bat-first prospect who has spent time at both second and third base in the minors since being selected with the 13th-overall pick in the 2023 draft. While Shaw has typically been considered a more natural fit at second than third due to questions about his arm strength, the youngster logged 580 1/3 innings at the hot corner in the minors this past year and seems to be a natural choice to replace Paredes in Chicago’s infield mix next year. That, according to Rosenthal, leaves the Cubs “likely” to keep Hoerner in the fold headed into next season.
It’s at least possible another addition changes those plans, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier today that the club is in the market for third base help following yesterday’s deal. It’s unclear if such an addition would be a part-time player who could offer insurance in case Shaw proves to not be quite ready for the majors or if the Cubs are pursuing more of a regular option at the hot corner, but it would seem likely at this point that the Cubs may only seriously entertain a Hoerner trade going forward if they’re able to land a regular third baseman, thereby allowing them to replace Hoerner with Shaw at the keystone.
While Hoerner may be staying put in Chicago, the same cannot be said for Cody Bellinger. The 2019 NL MVP has been known to be on the trade block all winter due to the outfield logjam the Cubs experienced late in the 2024 season, when Bellinger was vying with Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Mike Tauchman, and top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong for regular playing time. That logjam already led the Cubs to non-tender Tauchman, and the introduction of Tucker as the surefire everyday starter in right field only further emphasized that Bellinger figures to play in another uniform next year.
The Yankees appear to be perhaps the most aggressive suitor for Bellinger this winter, though reports have previously indicated that the sides remain apart on how much of Bellinger’s contract the Cubs should retain. Peter Botte of the New York Post provided additional details about the situation yesterday, reporting that the sides are “more than $10MM” apart in their negotiations. That’s a hefty gap the sides will need to bridge in order to come together on a deal, as it represents more than a third of Bellinger’s $27.5MM salary for the 2025 season. Freeing up money in order to improve other areas of the roster seems to be one of the primary motivators for the Cubs in trading Bellinger. According to RosterResource, the club’s luxury tax payroll sits at just under $215MM after the Tucker deal, and clearing as much of Bellinger’s $26.67MM average annual value off the books as possible would greatly increase Chicago’s financial flexibility as they look into improving their rotation by dealing for a starter like Mariners righty Luis Castillo or Marlins southpaw Jesus Luzardo.
Speaking of the rotation, Patrick Mooney and Tim Britton of The Athletic recently took a look at the possibility of an extension between the Cubs and left-hander Justin Steele. The pair report that Steele and the Cubs have not engaged in extension talks to this point, though they note that the Cubs frequently use the start of Spring Training as an opportunity to explore extensions with players as they’ve done with Hoerner and Happ in the past before ultimately getting deals done closer to Opening Day.
The 29-year-old lefty is certainly an intriguing extension candidate. Steele is under team control for three more seasons and doesn’t sport high-end velocity or massive strikeout rates. With that said, his results have been undeniably excellent in three seasons since he joined the rotation on a full-time basis. In 427 innings of work across 78 starts over the past three years, Steele has posted a 3.10 ERA (134 ERA+) with a nearly matching 3.14 FIP. He generates grounders at a strong 48.5% clip and has limited walks to just a 5.7% rate over the past two seasons after struggling somewhat with his control in 2022. Among starters with at least 300 innings over the past two years, only Gerrit Cole has allowed a lower ERA than Steele’s 3.07, while his 3.11 FIP ranks third behind Sonny Gray and Logan Webb.
Yankees should take the Bellinger contract if they also get Hoerner.
Lmfao. Typical yankee fan delusion.
Agreed. Hoerner, in my opinion is the 2nd best defensive 2b (1st being B Turang). I would happily begrudgingly take Bellinger if Hoerner is attached. I really believe Bellinger is completely not needed for the Yankees to be successful and win. Bellinger is the most overrated left handed bat in the league. I would rather have Profar than Bellinger and especially due to Bellingers absurd contract.
@And
I want Profar for LF but we could certainly use Belli at 1b and use him as an emergency CFZ if Dominguez struggles or summertime in the OF is injured. I don’t have a problem with his bat. I think it’ll okay better in a much shorter RF fence vs Wrigley where it’s 350 in RF.
@And early 80’s Yankees fan! If the Yankees and Cubs are more than 10 mil apart in their negotiations, Hoerner‘s contract is worth around 11 mil a year. And the Yankees could add Peraza to their offer. He plays good D, is fast and isn’t as bad as it looks like offensively. Maybe he just needs a change of scenery.
Hoerner was snubbed by Turang for his 2nd gold glove, who is maybe half as good defensively than Nico is.
Well I would be happy as a Yankee fan if either were our starting 2nd baseman after watching G Torres for years although I do like Jazz at 2nd but the 3b options are not ideal or even remotely appealing.
More like the Yankees GIVE nothing if they take the Bellinger contract.
I love their Tucker trade, but I think it’s like a great steak- What are you surrounding it with? They still need a front line starter and Castillo would be a perfect RH fit between Steele and Imanaga. It looks like Hoerner would have to be part of that deal. (Shaw could play third but I think he’s a better fit at second base which would make Hoyer’s ability to fill third, critical.) All that to say, Hoerner, IF he’s traded, needs to go in a deal where they get something more than salary relief in return.
Bellinger will be a much better hitter in Yankee Stadium than in Wrigley Field and if you want Hoerner too, you’re going to have to offer a lot more than a #5 prospect.
Agreed. I read a proposed trade for Bellinger and Hoerner for Stroman, Warren, a middle infield prospect but no name was given. If it is Peraza then I say hell yeah! Yankees should do that deal a million times. However, I can’t believe this is realistic unless the Cubs know they can spin off Stroman immediately as the trade is to free up money for the Cubs to sign better players or perhaps Bregman. I would love to see the Yankees make this trade but highly unlikely the Cubs are that desperate. Again if peraza and Warren are the gets to move and save 20 million than it may make sense for Chicago. I’m just not as familiar with their exact budget constraints and parameters.
Didn’t Tauchman sign with the White Sox?
Yes
This is time of the year where the Yankees trade or sign for someone older, injury prone, and overpriced. I expect we will see Cashman mintain that consistency.
I hope not. He had the chance to knock it out of the park with a Tucker acquisition, but didn’t. If he doesn’t get Bellinger and a 1B, or Bellinger and another OFer, it clearly won’t be enough. Having a great pitching staff is great, but you can’t do it at the expense of scoring altogether.
You know Bellinger isn’t very good, right? Why are you all salivating to get his behind in pinstripes? I mean, I assume he’s available for a C level prospect if y’all want to take his salary. The guy you want is Christian Walker. I’d take a flyer on Goldschmidt as well. Not Belli.
Agreed. Yankees need to stop wasting money and time on Bellinger. Walker would be a solid addition.
Well, it’s all perspective… I really wanted Tucker because he’s the closest thing to a Soto replacement that was available. But the reason for Bellinger isn’t that he’s great; rather it’s that he’s got an above-average bat (barely, but still) and excellent defense, both of which were sorely lacking from the two positions he will likely fill – 1B and LF.
Bellinger is better than Trent Grisham…and he’s most likely the Yankees’ opening day CF next season, as of right now. So, there’s that, and they also don’t have a starting 1b. Unless you consider DJ LeMahieu a starting 1b. (Hint: he’s not)
someone is going to offer walker 4 years and even the yankees aren’t dumb enough to match that. bellinger is a better defender than goldschmidt and hits left-handed so he would be my preference but neither of those guys are going to save the day
You guys talking about signing Walker must know that when Yanks sign any FA who have a QO attached also cost them 2 high draft picks & also international pool money just like when they signed Fried. They lost 2 & 5th rd. Picks, for next signing they lose 3 & 6 th. Because of going over CBA so much in 2024.
@seam @AndEarly
I think you miss the true value of Belli. He’s owed 2/$52 with an opt out, should he have a great season. He should be extra motivated to have a great year and opt out and try to get a new contract at age 30 vs 31. Next year a could of things might play out well. Ben Rice might have a great season at AAA. If so, they can let Belli walk or keep him off he opts in and move him to LF or CF. Or the Yanks can take a shot at Vlad Jr, Arraez or Josh Naylor.
Walker will likely get 3/$75 to 4/$100. Is he worth $25 to $50 mil more than Belli? Factoring in the likely uptick in moving to YS , the fact that he’s 4 years younger than Walker, who turns 34 in spring, his defensive versatility, his left handedness, and the pedigree of having won an MVP, a WS ring having done so in a large media market tells me Belli has more tangible and intangible value than Walker. I don’t want to see him thru his age 34-37.
@Dog
Dominguez will likely start in CF. I can’t see them sticking with Grisham in Grosvenor of Soto.
@Dog
Dominguez will likely start in CF. I can’t see them sticking with Grisham in replace of Soto.
“Better than Trent Grisham.” I mean… a lot of people are better than TG. Bellinger had one truly atrocious year but has posted between 2.5-8 war every other year of his career. This is a former MVP, man. His floor is a really solid player and his ceiling is a top tier all star. I’d be thrilled to buy low on CB and watch him get some of that Judge protection.
You know Bellinger actually is good, right? You moron.
I bet the same idiots who are currently saying “Bellinger isn’t good” said the same moronic comment about Teo after a year in Seattle.
Let me enlighten you simple minded folks who’s critical thinking skills make you believe Judge took less year and less money to stay in New York.
Last season, Wrigley was the most pitcher friendly park in all of baseball, out pacing Seattle. That is a huge anomaly as for Wrigley typically plays 12% better for hitters. Wrigley snuffed out between .100-.150 points in OPS.
Bellinger’s contact oriented approach doesn’t play especially well in Chicago due to Wrigleys massive wells. Wrigley, for you simple minded folks, have the deepest wells in baseball.
Bellinger posted a triple slash of .282/.347/.451 on the road, driving in 46 in just 65 games and scoring 41 times. That, since basic math is difficult for non-critical thinkers 112 RBIs and 102 runs scored on a 162 game average.
The Yankees play in a park with a comically short RF, 314 feet vs 353 and 11 feet tall. In addition, they also play in a division with Boston who also has a ridiculous RF and hitter friendly parks in Baltimore and Toronto.
Let’s not also forget Bellinger broke a rib early last season and a finger later in the year that affected his power numbers.
Hope that enlightens you just a little bit.
P.S. if you need me to explain the Judge comment as well since that math is just a little more complex, I’d be happy to do so. I’m here for you mouth breathers.
Drasco – well explained. When the Cubs originally signed Belli, I was a bit of a skeptic. It wasn’t just Bellingers first year numbers with the Cubs, but even when he struggled, he played hard and found ways to contribute. It does look like he will be moved, but I hate to see him go. He might be a bit overpaid but not much for what he adds to a lineup.
He changed his approach, and I think it was to accommodate the park he played his home games and sometimes to fit the situation of the game.
Belli adds a whole lot to a team. And if he’s so mediocre – how many MLB teams would he NOT be batting somewhere from 2nd to 5th???
@Knicks Agreed…I don’t believe Cashman WANTS to go into the season with Grisham as his starting CF. I was only trying to make the point that, as of right now, he’s at the top of the depth chart for that position. You’d have to think Dominguez could play LF, or they swap places. But honestly, if Dominguez struggles in spring training (a possibility) he may need more “seasoning” at AAA for a couple months to open the year. So, they definitely need to make another OF acquisition, and I hope Bellinger is that guy. Getting Jurickson Profar to play LF wouldn’t suck either…and Bellinger could move to 1b…but Cashman had that opportunity last off season and chose Verdugo instead. So I’m not holding breath on Profar this year.
Drasco you might want to edit some typos and misspellings before calling people morons. I agree with your message though.
Agreed. If Bellinger and Hoerner for Stroman, Warren, and Peraza was to come to fruition and the Yankees turned around and signed Walker and T Scott…Cashmans face gets molded for monument park.
80s, keep dreaming about those stupid trade proposals coming to fruition.
Maybe the Cubs will trade you Taillon and Suzuki for Judge and Cole.
@Yankee
Giving up 5 years of Gil would’ve been stupid and would’ve nullified the whole point of signing Fried. Also, maybe we don’t trade for Williams with a depleted rotation down to Cortez and Schmidt? Tucker would’ve been great but maybe he another 1 and done. I thought King was good but I had no idea he would be as good as he was last year. The fact he only has 1 me year of control and likely wouldn’t have been in the rotation mitigated the hurt. Gil MIGHT be a beast and he might flop but he’s beyond a prospect and I think the fact that the Astros, generally considered good talent evaluators, says something. We don’t need to hit a homerun on a Soto replacement we can do with a double so long as we improve upon what Verdugo, Torres and Rizzo have is last year.
Yeah, man, everything you said is true. I just prefer Tucker to any other pickup that was available besides Soto. But, Bellinger and another LFer/CFer makes the most sense, and in the context of getting Williams, is an outstanding offseason, imho.
@Yankee
Yanks have $81 mil coming off the books from last year. Figure Fried’s $28 mil and the the difference between Williams arbitration + the $2 mil sent to Mil minus Cortez contract leaves around $7 mil. So of that $81 they should still have $45 left to spend from last year. Assuming they get Belli and get the Cubs to pay the aav to $22ish the Yanks would have $23 mil to go after Profar and maybe another bullpen guy. Then they still might be willing to spend another $20 mil which would’ve been the difference between what they hypothetically wouldn’t paid Soto on his aav of $50 mil vs what he made last year ($31 mil). Point is, Yanks can just repurpose last years money and fill in the SP, closer, 1B and LF spots with 2b the only hole to address. Maybe they go with Cabrera for 1 year? Maybe they can eat half of Stroman’s contract and fit in Arraez in a trade?
Like Devin Williams…
When will teams ever learn that giving big contracts to players like Cody are just plain bad business in building a winning team
Lol. It was two years, three max ,smack dab in the middle of his prime.
Then I guess his prime sucks and for sure overpaid
LOL
lOL
LOL
I don’t think he’s the greatest player ever but the guy does a lot of things well on a baseball field. He’s probably a 20-22 million dollar a year player making 25. He’s signed to a short term deal. If he was on the books through 2032 it would be a bit more concerning.
Bellinger and Hoerner to the Yankees and Yankees eat all the money for both contracts but the Yanks send back Stroman, Oswaldo Perez, and another decent prospect such as Beeter?
Thoughts
I doubt they would take Stroman, but I thought about Peraza.
Why would the cubs even entertain such nonsense?
Stroman burnt bridges in Chicago. And now that they traded their 3rd baseman Paredes they aren’t going to also throw in their 2nd baseman Hoerner to get Stro back. Especially as a throw in to trade Cody.
Cubs are obviously trying to go for it a bit here in a weak division and 1 year of Tucker. Yankees take on Belli give them a middling to back end prospect and it’s probably a deal so the Cubs can spend the money to upgrade the team elsewhere. I believe that is all they are really looking for.
No one wants your garbage. Yankee fans are beyond delusional. If you want Nico, who’s 27 and posted a 4.2, 5.1 and 3.7 WAR the past three years and is signed for two more seasons with over 30 million in surplus value, you’re going to pay through the nose, especially with your weak farm system.
Billy: Just my opinion based on…well, nothing, but I think it would take a lot more than that to get Bellinger and Nico. For example, I think it would have to be someone like Schmidt or Gil, if Cubs were going to even consider it.
What I think doesn’t matter, but imho it would be Will Warren (or someone similar) and perhaps another one or two prospects for Bellinger. Truth be told, the only reason I say Warren is because that is who the Cubs reportedly asked for as the main return piece. Hopefully they can get a deal done because I think Bellinger would be a good fit for the Yankees. Time will tell….
If all these Bellinger and Hoerner rumors have any truth then the Yankees are better suited finding a way to trade for Hoerner only. Forget Bellinger and sign Profar. It would be a better move for the Yankees. I just don’t see all the talk about Bellinger being the best thing since sliced bread. He had one very good year for the Dodgers. He is not a Tucker or Soto difference maker.
What do the Yankees have in their craptastic farm system that would get them Nico Hoerner?
Hoerner isn’t going anywhere. But I’d be willing to take Bellinger for any of our pitching prospects. They wanted Warren which I think is fine.
yankees need someone to play first base, second base and left field. not sure how that’s possible with a 300M payroll but here we are. question for cub fans how is bellinger’s defense at first?
Chisholm moving to second
which means they need a third baseman 😉
Thats his best position, at this point hes an average outfielder but a very good first baseman
thanks! hard to interpret the various defensive metrics
Is their goal to stay under 301 mil?
Belli’s defense is very good at 1b.. as well as LF OR CF. HE Likely would hit for more power in Yankee stadium as a lefty.
good to hear. the yankees got something like negative 3 war from 1st last year so even a down year from bellinger would be a huge upgrade
I know he has been rated really well at 1st in the past. He didn’t play much there last year with Busch.
Cubs should keep Cody. They have zero payroll constraints. Rotate him around the diamond every week.
Agreed. Trading Cody Bellinger only makes sense if you didn’t trade for Kyle Tucker. The Cubs need good bats in that lineup, so there’s no reason to let him go. If they trade him and then PCA regresses or Busch continues to struggle, acquiring Tucker doesn’t help you that much.
how do cub fans feel about PCA? is he developing as expected? assume the defense and baserunning are great but will be hit?
PCA was fantastic his second half and on the road all season. A .265/.315/.415 slash line seems pretty projectable (combination of his away and second half numbers) and likely to improve.
PCA will probably be similar to KK, with up and down offensive numbers but elite defense and he’s going to rob the bases blind.
If I’m the Cubs, I’d have PCA hitting in front of Nico and hit and run teams to death.
PCA also had 27 steals in a little over 400 plate appearances. I can easily see him swiping 40 bags consistently. He’s one of those guys, like Nico, you know is going to run and cannot do anything about it.
fantastic info thank you
3-disengagement rule came at the perfect time for him. wonder about the home/road splits maybe he feels pressure to succeed at home and plays more relaxed on the road
I agree, except Busch didn’t struggle. He played well for his first full year. PCA got way better as the season went on. I think he will be good, not great. However, Cubs have plenty of money and should keep Bellinger. He is still a good hitter. Let the coaches figure out how to get his ABs in.
I feel the complete opposite. Bellinger was best bat in an average lineup. Now it’s Tucker. Plus they have a boatload of minor league guys who need bats at major league level. Let the Yankees have him
I agree the Yankees can have him, but I’d say Suzuki was the best bat in the lineup. I just don’t want any parts of Stroman
I think they should keep Bellinger and trade Suzuki. Suzuki is the one who doesn’t seem ok with being a DH. With Bellinger and no Suzuki the Cubs have 9 players for 9 spots. They kinda need 10 perhaps a new 3b would work.
Subtracting Cody and spending the money elsewhere probably makes the team better because of the Cubs roster construction. Too many outfielders in the majors and knocking on the door in the minors. $30 million the next two years could solidify the bullpen, or add a top line starter, or sign someone like Bregman. Although I wouldn’t want to get into the $200 million Boras Bregman Bonanza.
Why would they trade their second best hitter that is only $20 million??
Because Suzuki doesn’t want to be a DH.
That’s really not his choice. I get it if he doesn’t want to be traded to a place to be a DH but he hasn’t proven to be a good RF. That’s his fault.
He doesn’t want to be a DH in Chicago.
He doesn’t want to DH anywhere. But his play in RF last season is what landed him there.
Suzuki was the cubs best offensive player last year, getting rid of him only hurts the team. Belli and his $27m per contract needs to go so the cubs can get a 3B and/or more pitching
There is more to baseball besides offense.
@led
Aren’t they trying to get under the tax aspirin and still improve the team??
apron
With that little league right field fence distance which they claim is 314 feet from the plate but there’s no chance that’s the truth the Yankees need Cody Bellinger more than the Cubs need to get rid of Cody Bellinger. His left-handed bat will hit between 30 and 35 home runs in that park
It depends… which version of him would the Yankees get??? 😀
What sucks is if he has a really good year he’s almost certainly going to opt out. And I think the Yankees or whoever would have to pay that 5 million dollar buyout. So they just paid 32.5 million for 1 good season of Bellinger. And that’s the best case scenario.
The Yankees would pay $32 million for one year of Bellinger playing well.
@Bita
The $5 mil is if the team wants to get rid of him. If HE opts out the the Yanks owe him nothing. And if he had a great season, then I think they can make a qualifying offer and get compensation.
Cody’s left handed bat will hit 15-20 HR next year. At best.
@labial
He hit 19 last year as a pull hitter in a home stadium with a 350 ft RF wall. Moving to YS where the wall is 314 ft could mean an extra 5-10 homeruns.
Easily
@old
you think the league doesn’t check out these things?
When Citizens Bank Park opened the LF fence quickly became a point of discussion in the local media. The Phillies insisted the sign was correct. Eventually someone in the media went on the field with a laser measurement device and determined the sign was over 20 feet further than the actual distance from home plate. The Phillies moved the sign about 25 feet further toward CF.
The true LF power alley at CBP is 343 feet from HP. It was 371 at Veteran’s Stadium where Mike Schmidt played his entire career.
Would you like to measure it? Its 314
Jed does not have to trade Bellinger, they can keep him @ 1st , put Busch @ 2 nd or 3rd or trade Busch instead of Hoerner or then again keep them all & forget about being so tight. No one is saying they have to spend like NYTeams, LA, Philly, then again Yanks want him bad & Cubs know it & have no prospect depth to make many trades.
Busch was great last year. You can easily get him a game in LF,RF,CF,DH, 1st every single week. Injuries will 100 percent happen. Without trying they can him 500 ABs .
I’m a Cubs fan and Busch can not play 3rd. Dodgers didn’t think so either. What is with all the people here who just plop players at other positions and presume it will be ok. Bellinger will be gone so they can take the $30 million to fix the bullpen or whatever else. But they won’t throw in Nico or whatever else a lot of people here are proposing.
With one year of Tucker in hand it probably looks like
C- Amaya/kelly
1 – Busch
2- Nico
3 – Shaw
SS- Dansby
OF- Happ, PCA, Tucker
DH- Suzuki
You can’t keep Belli around at ~$30 million with Suzuki on the roster and Suzuki is making less but probably the better hitter making way less money. Bellis money could pay a Luis Castillo or Bregman or whatever to make that lineup or rotation way better.
Hoyer contacted Suzuki’s agent to see which of the teams that has made offers for him that he would waive his NTC to go okay for. Seems like Suzuki is odd man out. Unlike Bellinger, he actually has value in trade.
@Jim
Who has no prospect depth to make trades?
Why move Bellinger? Field the best team possible for 2025. Cards are planning on using this as a rebuild year. Brewers lost Adames and traded Williams. Play Bellinger at First. Suzuki is the DH. Michael Busch had a nice rookie year. Let him complete for time at third with rule 5 pick Bowman and Shaw. It’s useless to trade Bellinger unless they get 100 percent of his salary off the books and can find another third baseman that can out produce Bellinger. To my knowledge there is no third baseman that can produce better offensive numbers than Bellinger on the free agent market. Cubs are fishing for another starter. Good idea as a team can never have enough pitching. However if they fail the staff as is has enough starters. They need another late inning arm and another two bridge arms. They missed out on Matt Chapman last offseason. My estimate is that between Busch, Shaw, and Bowman that one will emerge as a decent third baseman. It’s known that as being a sophomore and also asking Busch to play third he’s most likely to regress. It’s nice to have two other players that can handle the hot corner on the roster. Bullpen will be the key to what needs to be a minimum 8 game improvement to win the division in 2025. Bring back the sheriff!!
Gage Workman is the Rule 5 guy you speak of, not Bowman.
I think he has recently given up switch hitting and went solely to a left handed hitter. A potential platoon with Shaw makes some sense, but I would guess if Shaw is making the squad it would be as a pretty every day player.
Who the f is Bowman?
I agree. Trading bellinger who is extremely versatile for another backend maybe pitching prospect makes no sense. Unless they can move him in a trade for something impactful, he becomes an awesome backup at 5 different spots. Caissie and Alcantara both start in AAA. I don’t know what they do with Canario. Busch can probably even butcher a couple games at second or third for even more 1st base games. Plenty of ABs to go around
I agree with your opinion, except Bregman would likely be a better hitter than Bellinger.
Matt Busch can not play 3rd.
the Yankees have discussed free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman with his agent, Scott Boras, Cashman said.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Yankees are expected to make a “full-court press” to sign All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman.
I hope that’s not true!
Why in the world would you not want Bregman? The guy is not only a solid ballplayer, but he’s a leader in the clubhouse. I’d love to have him on my team, I’ll tell you that.
Because he wants $200 million basically. I like Bregman a lot but is he worth $25+ million.
What did Chapman get in San Fran? Fact of the matter is there’s ONLY 15 real 3rd baseman in all of MLB that vmcan play the position with Plus defense and hit 30+ HRs so YES he is worth 25M per… easily What Bellinger getting paid at 1st base? The Position everyone gets sent to when they can’t play any OTHER position? Simply put… he’s worth 25M per and he’ll get it easily only hang up is the Total years of the Deal
@coop Good for you, and I don’t want him. He is almost 31yo and wants around 200 mil. I don’t think he’s worth it. He isn’t a difference maker. Yankees should spend the money elsewhere. I would much rather have Walker on a 3 year deal and Bellinger than Bregman.
@bronxB
LOL I agree with you on Bregman. He’s ok, but not worth a long term commitment.
You have to realize ‘remembercoop’ wants EVERY free agent out there. EVERYONE.
That’s his ‘plan’ as a would be, arm chair GM.
Lol
Astros do another deal.
Framber Valdez and Ryan Pressly for Bellinger and 2 top 5 and 2 from 6-10 prospects – no money.
That’s a massive over pay the Cubs will never do…
Astros would never do that – that is a huge overpay for Belli. And I’m a Cubs fan saying that.
I’m a Cubs fan too but it’s only 1 year of Frambler for about 3 top 100 guys and a more prospects. Ryan Pressley isn’t who he was. Seems like more than we paid for Tucker and I’d be sick at that.
Lol. I keep forgetting how deep the Cubs farm is.
Smith instantly became the Astros #1.
I’m used to only having 2-3 top 100 prospects so the ones I suggested trading for would likely all be outside the top 100.
My bad.
No worries. Cubs definitely can’t play all the young guys so some can be spent. But the Astros can look elsewhere if thats the deal. We dont need to rebuild their farm for them in a year for 1 year players.
The Cubs have not been this deep since Dallas Green days!
It’s usually not a good idea to trade away 4 of the top 10 prospects in a system, but the Astros have been doing it, or something close to it, every year since 2017 (except 2020).
That’s why their system is as bad as it is. But most teams would do that even in hindsight 100 out of 100 times for 7 consecutive LCS, 4 World Series appearances and 2 championships.
Even if the Cubs don’t go that direction they must keep adding on because they have 1 bullet with Tucker.
And their top prospects are all advanced and into AA/AAA. Ideally there should be more balance with more guys still in rookie ball and single A.
Who says no?
Cubs get Alec Bohm
Phillies get Cody Bellinger
If all the Cubs do is add Tucker, while losing Parades and Bellinger, I don’t see any improvement. Matthew Boyd is a low cost flyer and is no more than a #5 on a good staff. I think they need to open 2nd base for Shaw because his arm strength is fringy so he’s not going to be able to make the kinds of throws from the hot corner that a typical 3B would make. And if he’s worrying about his defense, that could impact his hitting. You don’t want to do that with a youngster. Move Hoerner, get Castillo and keep Belli. The only reason to trade him is to reduce payroll and that’s stupid because you only have Tucker for one year so now you have to go for it. Play Belli at 1B and move Busch to third.
Why can Busch play 3rd? He has terrible stats there even back to his days with the Dodgers. We’ve been doing this for years with Morel and Madrigal. Not worth it.
Why would they move Busch to 3rd at all? He’s far better at 1B.
Coop,
Maybe your memory is fading.
You say Shaw doesn’t have the arm for 3B. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
Wasn’t that the exact same argument that was made about Hoerner?
Wasn’t that the exact same argument that was made about Madrigal?
Wasn’t that the exact same argument that was made about Busch?
Matt Shaw recently played 3B for the US National Team and did a credible job from everything I’ve read. But again, who am I to disagree with a ‘sports writer’. Esp one from the well read, Beecher Gazette.
I’d do this, sure, why not? Good idea. But Cubs won’t do it cuz Hoyer is planning on having Shaw play thud, which is dumb cuz his arm is fringy. As I just pointed out in my post, why even trade Belli – just to reduce payroll? That’s idiotic because you only have Tucker for one year. The trade for him makes no sense if you’re not going for it this year. You know, this kind of reminds me of last year when they made the splash manager hire and then did nothing else. Cubs also need a closer, but I bet they’re going with Hodge. Sure, he did fine in some late chances, but you can’t depend on him if you’re truly trying to win now. This whole thing is kind of like the Bears. Give your young QB wideouts but no offensive line. Cubs are going to be another 83 win team in 25.
Shaw will be at 2B if Hoerner is traded. There’s no reason to put Shaw at 3rd if they move Nico.
No reason at all…
Matt Shaw 3rd base 64 games 2nd base 24 plus every single game for team USA. I don’t see a reason, not one, not one single reason whatsoever…
IF the CUBs traded Bellinger you don’t know who they would get back plus that might free up $ for them to sign a FA for 3B, SP or RP.
For 3B Not implying Bregman – someone cheaper that would sign for like 2 years.
OR a setup BP guy or SP depth (1 year contract plus maybe an option) They probably want to be involved in Sasaki sweepstakes
Phillies
Who says yes?
MLB Traderumors staff.
greatest Cub excluding Anson.
I expect Bellinger to have a really good year wherever he plays. Does anyone remember he crashed into the wall early in ’24. I figure he played hurt, I assume he’ll be healthy this year and perform really well. This guy is a superstar when healthy.
Cubs said they didn’t feel they needed to eat any of Bellinger’s salary and still wanted prospects. That won’t happen.
I know some of that was posturing, but Bellinger’s contract is seriously upside down. If he repeats 2024 he will opt in and earn $52.5 million for something like $36 million in value. No team is giving up any prospects with that as the most probable outcome.
If the Cubs want prospects in return they need to get serious and eat half of that if he opts in and $16 million if he opts out.
I think CUBs can still make a good deal by only paying Bellingers contact down by about 25- 33%
Omg! A pitcher that is very effective even though he doesn’t throw particularly hard! No way! /sarc
Maybe Greg Maddux knew something. Imagine that. 😉
I hope the Cubs keep Bellinger. He is only 28 and can play 1B + all 3 OF positions. He hit 122 wRC+ combined last 2 years. Better than Bregman, who plays in a bandbox. His left handed swing would play up at Yankee Stadium – est 30 HRs. He can also steal bases. All he cost is $ for his age 29 & 30 season.
1. Cody B. should not be traded. Play him at 1st base while Busch plays off the bench at the corner infield positions and of positions while a few games at DH.
2. 3rd base is not the issue some are making.
Shaw or Busch can play the position, and I understand Busch may not be good at the position, but still, he can play it.
3. The Cubs need Pen Arms!
Not sure why the Cubs would eat any of that contract?? Trade Suzuki my son could play better defense