As rumoured, the Chicago Cubs plucked superstar rightfielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros, but it doesn’t look like their off season is near done. The Tucker trade frees them up to move Cody Bellinger which has been a hot possibility for weeks.
Much of the pre trade scuttlebutt had outfielder Seiya Suzuki as part of the deal but in the end he stays put. The Cubs give up third baseman Isaac Paredes, aquired at the 2024 trade deadline. Pitcher Hayden Wesneski and last year’s number fourteen overall draft pick Cam Smith.
The Astros for the moment take a huge hit to their line up. They do get Paredes to fill the void left by free agent Alex Bregman but the loss of Tucker leaves a gaping hole. Perhaps they do go ahead and trade starter Framber Valdez to help fill that cavity.
Bellinger to the Yankees?
As far as Bellinger is concerned his name has been dangled for weeks. His expected landing spot, the Bronx. That rightfield porch so inviting for his left hand pull swing.
The Cubs and Yankees are believed to be more than $10 million apart on a potential Cody Bellinger trade. The Yankees want the Cubs to pick up a chunk of the 2 years/52.5 million remaining on Bellinger’s contract, per @JonHeyman.
Full article here: https://t.co/LKr46sjmC7 pic.twitter.com/xIsqQvj55X
— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) December 13, 2024
Would the Cubs get much back in return or is that going to just be all about getting the Yankees to eat as much of that contract as possible?
The Cubs aquiring a player of Tucker’s talent who has just one season left before free agency means the Cubs intend to contend. With that in mind, there’s more work to do.
Is top prospect ready?
Who plays third? Well, Michael Busch could move from first to third if they kept Bellinger to play first. However it could mean the time has come for the team’s number one prospect, Matt Shaw.
The recently turned twenty-three year old has handled minor league pitching extremely well but has only played thirty-five games at the triple ‘A’ level. His limited AAA stats were outstanding – 298/395/534.
The Cubs have already added starter Matthew Boyd to the group of Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon. Now comes word that they’re knocking on the Marlins door for Jesus Luzardo, which would give them four lefties in the rotation. Taillon would be the only righty.
Then there’s the matter of the bullpen which was unsettled for much of 2024. The closer role started with Adbert Alzolay who got hurt, passed on to Hector Neris who was unreliable and settled with twenty-three year old Porter Hodge.
And while Hodge did a good job in picking up nine saves at the end of the season, there are plenty of veteran free agent options out there. Carlos Estévez, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates and Kenley Jansen to name a few.
Bottom line: Cubs fans certainly have something to look forward to after having their team just hang around with eighty-three wins each of the last two seasons.
