NEWSLETTER
Although there is plenty about this rumor season that could annoy you, I don’t think there has been a report that more thoroughly irked me than the New York Post’s declaration that the Cubs are “determined” to trade Cody Bellinger OR Seiya Suzuki. For all the reasons I laid out, trading Suzuki would make absolutely zero sense. I’d hoped the source who told that to the Post either misheard or was completely full of it.
We now have a local report on the subject, and it actually relieves me quite a bit, despite the fact that it confirms at least part of the Post’s report.
“There have been rumors that the Cubs would be willing to trade Seiya Suzuki, but that only appears to be an option if Bellinger isn’t moved. For now, there seems to be real interest in Bellinger, which makes a Suzuki trade unlikely.”
In a world where the Cubs were “determined” to KEEP Cody Bellinger, then I suppose I could see the argument for shopping Seiya Suzuki (though I’d still say it would be deeply stupid, since he’s the best bat on the team, is a well-respected Japanese star in an era where that matters a lot, and has a no-trade clause).
But the Cubs aren’t determined to keep Bellinger, and instead seem completely focused on trading him. So maybe, then, the Suzuki stuff got floated by someone as a “hey, well, if they don’t trade Bellinger, they could always move Suzuki … ” kind of thing. As in, perhaps it came in response to some Bellinger-related talks getting stalled out (either by another club with hope, or by the Cubs as leverage).
Whatever the genesis, it seems not to matter. Seiya Suzuki is almost assuredly not getting traded, which is exactly what we all would’ve said two weeks ago. Even if Bellinger is not ultimately traded, the Cubs are not going to find a better bat out there at DH than Suzuki, especially at just two years and $36 million!
Back to obsessing about the Cubs getting the best possible return for Bellinger, since they seem “determined” to trade him …
