NEWSLETTER
MLB Rumors — Earlier this morning, we learned that the Chicago Cubs are active in trade talks for Shane Bieber and Tyler Glasnow. And in that article, I mentioned that as many as four aces were reportedly available this offseason. The other two? Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease (Mike Petriello of MLB.com also adds Mariners righty Logan Gilbert, but this is basically the first I’ve heard of his potential availability).
Big Market for Dylan Cease
And to the latter, Ken Rosenthal reports that “more than a dozen teams have inquired on Cease, with the Dodgers among the most aggressive.” The Dodgers need for starting pitching is well-documented, but their rumors have been pretty widely dispersed. It’s not even yet clear if they’ll return Clayton Kershaw for another year, or if he’ll finally head to Texas to ride off into the sunset (with the Rangers … get it?).
In any case, Rosenthal reports that the Dodgers pursued Cease at the deadline and seem to be picking those talks back up this winter. Given the way the White Sox front office has talked about moving on from everyone and anyone this winter, I’d say the chances of Cease being moved are quite high. I don’t think, however, the Cubs will be involved. Not that they shouldn’t be, it’s just that their focus seems to rest elsewhere.
Don’t Count on a Bo Bichette Trade
By contrast, those earlier rumors on the possibility of a Bo Bicette trade are starting to be reeled back in. Again according to Rosenthal, those reported trade discussions, while seemingly accurate, are “more a reflection of the lack of quality hitters available than the potential foundations of deals.”
That’s useful info for us, because it was the Cubs, just six days, connected to Bichette via Jon Morosi.
Rosenthal also adds that the Blue Jays are getting calls on first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but the song is the same: they don’t seem all that motivated to actually move either player. In fact, they’re still trying to sign Shohei Ohtani, and you’re not going to trade either young star if that’s still in your plans.
But who knows, maybe if they whiff on Ohtani, they’ll pivot to a different type of offseason?
While we’re on it, Rosenthal also pushed back on the idea of the Astros trading Alex Bregman, another thing we discussed recently, but not quite as firmly. That seems to be more plausible (to Rosenthal) than the Blue Jays moving either of their young stars.
For what it’s worth, Danny Abriano connects Bregman to both the Yankees and Mets. And SNY follows up with a conversation, though they don’t seem to buy it for either NY team.
Brandon Belt to the Cubs?
Brandon Belt is a guy the Chicago Cubs should target according to Lance Brozdowski, and, well, it’s hard to disagree (given the way he thinks the Cubs can/should use him):
“Brandon Belt is kind of an intriguing guy to me … you know exactly when to play him. He demolishes breaking balls. And if you’re going to lose a guy like Cody Bellinger, who slugged almost .600 versus breaking balls last year and supplement back in some left-handed power, I think a guy like Brandon Belt, $8 million (or) $9M for one year … is a great contract. You know exactly when to play him. If there’s a right-handed pitcher who throws a lot of sliders … Belt’s in there and he’ll give you 20-30% above major league average production.”
The big concern on Belt, 35, aside from his age, is that he struck out 34.9% of the time last season. But he did that while slashing .254/.369/.490 (138 wRC+) with 19 homers in just 404 PAs with a 15.4% walk rate. And he’s had kind of unexpectedly productive offensive seasons in 3 of the last four years (although one was the shortened pandemic year).
Brandon Belt absolutely POSITIVELY cannot be relied upon as THE offensive addition this offseason. But if the Cubs are able to make some noise elsewhere, he (like Rhys Hoskins) could be a good marginal/upside play on a fairly cheap and short-term commitment. We can do a deeper dive some other time. Interesting thought, though.
On a related tangent, The Athletic recently picked the Cubs as one of the logical landing spots for Rhys Hoskins, something we’ve discussed previously this offseason.
