Yankees among teams interested in this trade, but there’s a catch

The Yankees, along with the Mariners and Astros, have reached out to the Cubs about a possible Cody Bellinger trade this offseason, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score.

Considering the lefty can play both outfield and first base, Bellinger is a potential fit for the Yankees whether they are able to re-sign Juan Soto or not.

Bellinger opted in to his $27.5 million player option for next season earlier this winter. That means the Cubs are on the hook for $52.5 million, factoring in his $25 million player option for 2026. Bellinger’s opt-out for next season is packaged in with a $5 million buyout.

The 29-year-old signed a three-year deal with the Cubs after a resurgent campaign in 2023. He finished 10th in NL MVP voting that season, batting .307 with a .881 OPS and 26 home runs. Bellinger then took a step back statistically this year, hitting .266 with a .751 OPS and 18 homers in 2024.

There are red flags with Bellinger’s quality of contact that trace back to his big year in 2023, but his ceiling is high. The pull-side power, low strikeout rate, quality defense at multiple positions, speed and experience in large markets make him more appealing.

It’s not the production that has Chicago wanting to move the eight-year vet. It’s the money and the fact that the Cubs have a logjam in their outfield. By getting rid of Bellinger, they’d regain financial flexibility to bolster other parts of their roster and clear a path to play some of their talented young players at first and in the outfield.

As Joel Sherman of the New York Post put it on Thursday, the Cubs are “determined” to move Bellinger. The same can be said for outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who is owed $36 million over the next two years.

The caveat here is that the Cubs aren’t looking to shed Bellinger’s salary, according to Levine. They don’t want to eat much of the money left on his deal either. That could be an obstacle in negotiations considering the price attached to Bellinger and the fact that he’s a boom-or-bust acquisition.

If a team knew they were getting the 2023 version of Bellinger in a trade — or the Bellinger that won the NL MVP Award with the Dodgers way back in 2019 — then that cost of doing business wouldn’t be an issue. Bellinger would’ve opted out of his deal with the Cubs if he had another strong season this year and erased those question marks, though. His decision to stick around with the Cubs is a sign that he and his agent, Scott Boras, recognize there wouldn’t have been a huge multi-year deal waiting for him in free agency.

Perhaps the Yankees can find a way to package some of their own expendable pieces alongside whatever return the Cubs would want back for Bellinger. If the Cubs are after starting pitching, the Yankees could offer Nestor Cortes or even Marcus Stroman in the deal. What about catcher Jose Trevino? He could be trade bait with Austin Wells in line to take on a full-time role behind the plate and depth existing at the position in Triple-A. The more money a team would need to spend on Bellinger, the less they’ll be willing to part with when it comes to prospect capital. Sherman also presented the idea of getting a third team involved to make this happen, regardless of the Soto verdict.

Expect that decision from Soto, along with the sweepstakes for other top-tier free agents like Anthony Santander, Christian Walker and more, to play a role here. Teams that miss out on the best available bats at those positions on the open market could be more desperate to pivot and spend more on a Bellinger trade. Chicago could also lower their requirements to offload Bellinger and a chunk of his contract as the winter goes along.

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Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com.