Report: NY Yankees & Cubs Making Progress on Bellinger Trade

The Chicago Cubs are looking to trade Cody Bellinger, and the entire league knows it. The New York Yankees are looking to replace a little of the offense (yes, in the case of Bellinger, we said 'a little' of the offence) that they lost in the outfield with the defection of Juan Soto to the Mets.

With that, the two sides are in deep talks, reports baseball insider Jon Heyman, to get a deal done.

The Yankees and Cubs have made 'a bit of progress' in talks around Cody Bellinger, per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/3OnHuJD0PT
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 12, 2024

This is somewhat surprising news, as the Yankees are also said to be a strong suitor for the shockingly-available Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros. He would be a much closer approximation to the value that Soto brought (in fact, Tucker had a higher OPS last season than Soto, though in only half the games due to injury).

Bellinger is coming off a middling season with the Cubs, and once he picked up his $27.5 million player option for 2025, the team immediately decided to put him on the trade block. In 2023, his first year in the Windy City went much better, as he batted .307 with 26 homers and an .881 OPS. That all dropped to a .266 avg, with 18 HR and a .751 OPS in 2024.

He's still a very good defender, in the outfield and at first base.

But Heyman says in the New York Post on Thursday that any potential Yankees/Cubs trade for Belli has a stumbling block to get over.

The hang-up was about money, with the Cubs asking the Yankees to take on nearly the full $52.5M Bellinger’s due over the next couple years, and the Yankees expecting more cash coming back.

The Yankees are also considering free agents Christian Walker and Pete Alonso for an offensive boost, so we'll have to keep an eye on them over the next couple of days.