Major League Baseball Trade Candidate: Chicago Cubs’ Cody Bellinger

This offseason, the Chicago Cubs bolstered their roster with several veteran players looking to rejuvenate their respective careers.

The Cubs gave contracts to outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger, outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini, first baseman Eric Hosmer, and catcher Tucker Barnhart, hoping they might strike gold and improve their run production.

Bellinger and Hosmer both hit left-handed. Mancini and Barnhart are right-handed hitters.

Now, with the Cubs appearing to be more competitive in the National League Central, they may be very tempted to look to the future by trading veteran players to strengthen their roster with young, controllable new faces.

The Cubs entered this season with an estimated payroll of $187 million, or $40 million more than last year.

Bellinger has a 1-year contract worth $17.5 million.

Mancini’s contract is for 2-years, at $14 million. There is an opt out clause after this year. Mancini must receive 350 plate appearances to opt out.

Hosmer’s contract is for 1-year, at $720,000.

The Cubs are loaded with first basemen. While Bellinger, Mancini, and Hosmer are each capable of playing the position, so are rookie left-handed hitter Matt Mervis, and right-handed hitting Patrick Wisdom.

The Cubs don’t need the logjam at first base.

Moving forward, Mervis has the power and strength to win the first base job permanently. And they have solid outfield depth.

It would make sense if the Cubs explored a trade or trades for one or more of their recently signed, free agent acquisitions.

The Cubs may look to find trade partners for either Bellinger, Mancini, or both.

To this old scout, Bellinger offers the Cubs the best opportunity to maximize value in trade.

About Cody Bellinger:

Left-handed hitting Cody Bellinger, 27, had a roller-coaster experience playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Selected by the Dodgers in the 4th round of the 2013 MLB draft, Bellinger won the Rookie of the Year Award, and was an All Star for the Dodgers when he roared to the big league stage in 2017.

His career was rolling along very nicely, as Bellinger made the All Star Team, was named the National League Most Valuable Player, and was named to the All-Major League Baseball Team in 2019. That year, he hit .305/.406/.629/1.035 with 47 homers and 115 RBIs in 661 plate appearances. He was an unstoppable force on a very solid Dodgers club.

However, following that tremendous season, Bellinger’s career was never the same with the Dodgers.

In the 2020 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, a Game 7 Bellinger home run put his Dodgers in the World Series.

During the team celebration, Bellinger injured his right shoulder while forearm bashing teammate Enrique Hernandez.

Bellinger required surgery on the shoulder, which had also been bruised and bashed several times in his career when Bellinger dove for balls in the outfield.

In his last three years with the Dodgers, Bellinger hit .239 (2020,) .165 (2021,) and .210 (2022.)

His offensive production plummeted, and the Dodgers declined to offer him a contract when he reached free agency last November.

The Cubs signed Bellinger on December 14, 2022.

As of this writing, Bellinger is hitting .271/.337/.493/.830 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs in 163 plate appearances.

Bellinger is currently dealing with pain in his knee after landing awkwardly after a catch in a game May 15.

Bellinger didn’t play in the Cubs game against the Houston Astros May 17.

His value has returned, as has the trust in his ability to be a consequential major league hitter.

Bellinger has returned to hitting mechanics that are more measured, with less upper-cut, and in general, a shorter, more compact swing.

Still subject to slumps, there are times Bellinger reverts back to his aggressive approach, but in most instances, he is making contact.

Excellent Trade Fit-New York Yankees:

If the Cubs trade Bellinger, it would be wise to send him out of the National League.

For that reason, this writer feels the New York Yankees would be an ideal fit for a Bellinger trade.

It seems feasible a package of players from both teams could be constructed that would help both the Cubs and the Yankees build their futures.

The Yankees need outfield help.

Bellinger is a superb defensive outfielder, and he is very capable of taking over in center field for New York. In fact, Bellinger won a Gold Glove with the Dodgers in 2019.

The cozy Yankee Stadium right field seats would be ideal for Bellinger’s home run swing. He should be able to be very successful pulling the ball and hitting it out of the park in right field.

The Yankees are loaded with good, young prospect players still in development that would help the Cubs.

Some of the prospects are close to major league ready, and could help the Cubs sooner than later.

One Name that intrigues this writer is catcher Austin Wells. A combination of their own catching prospect, Miguel Amaya, and Austin Wells would solve the Cubs needs at that position for years to come.

Conclusions:

The Chicago Cubs may look to trade from recently acquired free-agent players added to their roster this past offseason.

One such player, first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, has enough value to fetch a young, controllable prospect player or players that could bolster the Cubs for the future.

One team this writer feels is a good match for a Cody Bellinger trade is the New York Yankees.

Now, we have to see if the Cubs want to turn their offseason acquisition of Bellinger to a player or players for their future.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/berniepleskoff/2023/05/18/major-league-baseball-trade-candidate-chicago-cubs-cody-bellinger/