Swapping Codys

The trade that I guess needed to happen has happened. After grabbing Kyle Tucker, and as discussed on the Dreamcast, the Cubs have indeed offloaded Cody Bellinger to the Yankees:

The Yankees are acquiring first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Cubs also send cash to the Yanks and receive right-hander Cody Poteet. Per Jack Curry of YES Network, it’s $5MM going to the Yankees. Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, that’ll be $2.5MM this year and $2.5MM next year. The second $2.5MM will go towards either his buyout or his 2026 salary, depending on his opt-out decision, per PassanBob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Bellinger has been told he’ll be playing center field for the Yanks.

Via MLBTR

Given the acquisition of Tucker and the need to bat Seiya Suzuki (and probably let him play RF) every now and then, not to mention the glut of outfielders in the system, this trade was probably inevitable, but the nearly full-scale salary dump is a bit surprising. Nevertheless, that’s about $25MM the Cubs get to repurpose for bullpen, more infielders, a starting pitcher or two, etc. if they so choose. The Cubs are certainly not done yet as they have payroll space even if they might dial back the total payroll a tad, and they also have a bit more trade capital to play with.