Yesterday, the Cubs finally moved Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees, landing swingman Cody Poteet in return.
Cody Poteet to Cubs, who are sending $5M and Bellinger to the Yankees
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 17, 2024
The writing was on the wall for Bellinger once Chicago traded for Kyle Tucker. Considering the Cubs' desire to extend Tucker, Bellinger's $52.5 million remaining salary proved too onerous for a big-market team that operates like a mid-market one.
Poteet is a 30-year-old pitcher who has starting experience but will likely pitch in manager Craig Counsell's bullpen. His career numbers are pedestrian — 3.80 ERA (4.82 FIP), 20.2% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate — though they'll likely improve with a full-time switch to relief pitching. Regardless, he isn't an exciting or promising return for a player that finished tenth in MVP voting in 2023, and it speaks to the Cubs' frugality that they couldn't do better.
Cubs could cost themselves division with frugal habits
Look, the Cubs were never going to get a huge return for Bellinger. He isn't the player he was when he won MVP with the Dodgers in 2019, nor is he even the player that outperformed all expectations in 2023 with the Cubs. Even if Chicago was willing to eat the majority of his remaining deal, they weren't going to receive a haul of prospects or an All-Star big leaguer.
Still, Bellinger is a plus-defender at four positions — all three outfield spots and first base — and is an above-average left-handed bat. That counts for something, and the Cubs absolutely could have done better in this trade had they been willing to eat just a little more money.
Alas, they settled for Poteet, more than content to trade away one of their best players in an effective salary dump. Before this trade, they were at around $204 million in CBT salary before this deal, so $37 million below the line. Now, they're about $62 million below it, give or take depending on how the money they send to the Yankees is calculated.
Of course, this being the Cubs, the first threshold on the luxury tax before penalties incur ($241 million) isn't actually the hard cap. Some have suggested $225 million is the maximum they're willing to spend on next year's team. If that's true, it's a real shame, considering the team finally has a superstar in Tucker and is playing in baseball's most winnable division (especially following the Brewers' decision to deal Devin Williams).
Now, there were other reasons to trade Bellinger besides money. The outfield was completely crowded out with Ian Happ (LF), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Kyle Tucker (RF), and Seiya Suzuki (RF/DH) all penciled into everyday roles. Plus, top outfield prospects Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara are knocking on the door of the majors. Trying to make playing time for everyone could have caused a lot of friction — Suzuki already spoke out against the idea — and relieving that tension ahead of time will only do the the clubhouse good.
Does that excuse the meager return the Cubs got? Probably not, but it does make for some good banter that will distract some fans to the real problem facing the team: the Cubs are cheap.
That might not matter all that much right now, but in a year's time, when Tucker is a free agent, it will.