Report: Chicago Cubs "Want to Trade" Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger was one of the surprise stories of the 2023 season, and probably the best free agent signing that prior winter, as the Chicago Cubs signed the former NL MVP to a cheap "prove it" deal at only $17 million.

It paid off large, as he hit .307 with 26 HR and 97 RBIs with an .881 OPS and a 139 OPS+. Almost back to his MVP form.

But after signing a 3-year, $80M deal with the Cubs with player options last winter, 2024 proved to be a backslide for Belli, as his average dropped to .266, his homers sunk to 18 and his ribbies to 78. His OPS was .751. Not surprisingly, he picked up the $25M option on his contract for 2025, and still has another $27.5M he could opt in to for 2026 as well. It sounds like the Cubbies aren't crazy about that idea.

Noted MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal reported in his latest article for The Athletic that Bellinger's time in the Windy City could be coming to an end this offseason if the Cubs had their way:

While rival executives say the Chicago Cubs want to trade first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, they also note the difficulty the team likely will face pulling off such a move.

That "difficulty" in trading him that Rosenthal speaks of is the bag of money that Bellinger is still owed.

There could be some interest for the 29-year-old on the trade market for teams looking for offense and willing to take a chance, if they aren't able to land one of the top slugging free agents out there, such as Juan Soto, Willy Adames, Alex Bregman or Anthony Santander.

Bellinger's best major league season came with the LA Dodgers in 2019, when he won the NL MVP with a 1.035 OPS, 47 HR, 115 RBIs and a 167 OPS+. But his offense fell off a cliff after that, and the Dodgers finally gave up on him after the 2022 season and let him go as a free agent.

So is he really the 2019 & 2023 version of Bellinger, or the 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2024 version? That's what any potential takers must decide.