NEWSLETTER
Cody Bellinger trade rumors have been swirling all offseason (hence the obsessive trade watch), but things could be coming to a head as we near the end of the Winter Meetings. The only problem? The team most likely to trade for Cody Bellinger – the New York Yankees – is tied up in a web of interconnected motivations/rumors/leverage/financials/whathaveyou alongside the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, trade candidate Kyle Tucker, and free agent Alex Bregman. Let’s see if we can untangle it a bit to set the stage for some news.
The Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker Predicament
Here it goes: If the Astros are unable to re-sign free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, they’ll likely be more interested in trading Kyle Tucker to the Cubs in a deal centered around third baseman Isaac Paredes (who would replace Bregman at third in Houston). And the easiest path to the Astros not re-signing Bregman is if the Yankees are able to sign him. And, indeed, they are reportedly in pursuit.
So on the surface, it all seems pretty straightforward, right? Yankees sign Bregman, Astros trade Tucker to the Cubs for Paredes (plus more, of course), and everyone is happy. Except it’s not that simple.
Because the Yankees are ALSO trying to land Kyle Tucker. So signing Bregman could give the Cubs a slight upper hand. Likewise, the Cubs might only be able/willing to trade for Kyle Tucker if they can first unload the salary (and unclog the outfield spot) taken up by Cody Bellinger. And the most likely landing spot for Cody Bellinger? You guessed it, the New York Yankees. Those two teams have been talking all winter, and the Yankees have been eying Bellinger (who really does make so much sense for them) for almost two years now.
But here’s another problem: If the Yankees trade for Cody Bellinger now, eating money in the deal, and/or sign Alex Bregman, they’d be directly helping the Cubs scoop Kyle Tucker out from underneath them. Maybe they won’t want Kyle Tucker if they have Bregman and Bellinger, but it’s at least a factor.
And, indeed, that web (or, at least, the money piece) is reportedly a roadblock in those Cubs-Yankees rumors on Cody Bellinger:
Jon Heyman on X: “Cody Bellinger would be a great fit for Yankees since he’s very good at 1B and very solid in CF, too. But for now there’s a gap on the $. Cubs don???t want to eat any of it, Yankees think they should. Bellinger is guaranteed $52.5M over 2 years with an opt-out after 2025.”
So if the Yankees won’t eat enough money, the Cubs might not trade Cody Bellinger, which might make them less eager to trade for Kyle Tucker, which could open up Houston/Tucker to the Yankees’ trade offer. And if that happens, Houston might have a better shot at re-signing Alex Bregman. So they might be happy either way.
Like I said, it’s an absolute MESS. Hopefully, the Cubs don’t mess around too much with the Yankees, refusing to eat enough money to get the deal done. Because if that Cody Bellinger trade doesn’t go through, I’m not so sure Kyle Tucker will be coming to the North Side. And I want Kyle Tucker coming to the North Side.
But I won’t leave you on a sour note, because the Cubs-Kyle Tucker trade rumors just keep heating up. Most consider them the front-runners and that’s been a VERY exciting development.
Kyle Tucker to the Cubs is the Favorite
Our friend, Matt Clapp, grabbed some useful TV hits from Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on the matter. You can watch them right here and I’ll drop the key quotes below:
Here's the Jon Heyman report on Kyle Tucker. pic.twitter.com/89FUQ0frJE
— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) December 11, 2024
"If we were setting odds today, I think from everyone I talk to, they would think the Cubs are ahead (for Kyle Tucker)." – Joel Sherman pic.twitter.com/U4L18q09jo— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) December 11, 2024
Heyman: “I think the Cubs are a strong possibility (for Kyle Tucker) at this point … and Isaac Paredes would be a nice fit there….At this moment, it feels more like a Cubs deal than a Yankee deal,” (Because the Yankees may be reluctant to repeat the one-year superstar trade they executed last winter (Juan Soto).
Sherman: “If we were setting odds today, I would think from everyone I’ve talked to, the Cubs are ahead. Yankees are in it, though.”
Yowza. This is exciting. And confusing. I’ll leave it here for now, but stay tuned, because this all has the smell of something very close to happening – and that something might be a series of moves, involving three big teams, one top free agent, and one of the best hitters in MLB winding up on the Chicago Cubs.
