3 ways a Cody Bellinger trade dramatically shifts the Chicago Cubs' 2025 season

Ken Rosenthal ignited a firestorm of speculation on Wednesday when he reported that the Cubs are looking to trade Cody Bellinger. There are clearly a lot of hurdles to a trade transpiring (it might require the Juan Soto domino to fall, the significant contract, etc.), but it seems like there’s a lot of belief in Bellinger eventually being moved. 

What would a potential trade mean for the remainder of the Cubs' offseason and 2025 roster? 

1. Creating a runway for Owen Caissie at the Major League level

The Cubs outfield and lineup logjam have been well documented. A Bellinger trade goes a long way towards opening up everyday at-bats for the big-league club, most likely in right field. With Owen Caissie officially on the 40-man, he’d be the pick Cubs fans would clamor for to take them.

Caissie continued his domination of minor league pitching at Triple-A in 2024, slashing .278/.375/.472 (although his swing and miss rate is a bit of a concern). The club could also simply move Seiya Suzuki back to right field most days and rotate the DH spot. Regardless, a Bellinger trade would substantially boost Caissie's odds of breaking camp with the big league club in 2025.

2. Added flexibility for Jed Hoyer

Even if the Cubs end up eating a portion of Bellinger’s contract in a trade, it opens up a significant amount of Ricketts' fun money for Jed Hoyer and the front office to work with.

Maybe the additional money convinces the Cubs to play in the deep end of the free-agent pitcher pool. In a hypothetical trade where the Cubs send ~$10 million alongside Bellinger, around $17 million in salary space is cleared for each of the next two years. While the math is never this simple, that $17 million annually could easily cover the gap between a ~$15 million AAV Nick Pivetta contract and a Max Fried ~$28 million AAV contract in 2025 and 2026.

Yes, I can hear the shouts already that freeing up money with the Bellinger trade shouldn’t be required for the Cubs to spend serious money. We can commiserate later on the Cubs' unwillingness to act like a major market team.

3. Pitching Staff Implications

Regardless of how you slice it, a Bellinger trade would create some additional turnover on the Cubs staff. The team is clearly already targeting starting pitching additions but as documented earlier, the salary savings could allow them to target a top-of-rotation type as opposed to a mid-rotation piece.

Alternatively, the additional dollars could also be allocated towards the bullpen. Tanner Scott would make for a tasty marquee addition, but the Cubs could also explore reunions with Chris Martin, Aroldis Chapman, or the ageless David Robertson. As we saw in 2024, the more depth the better. 

It's worth pointing out that any Bellinger trade would likely include a major league ready arm coming to the North Side in exchange. Teams like the Yankees, Mariners, and Blue Jays have a host of interesting arms that could provide quality depth for the 2025 staff.  

Any new additions will have implications on roster spots and roles for guys like Jordan Wicks, Hayden Wesneski, Rob Zastryzny (the 2016 Cubs live!), Caleb Killian, and Keegan Thompson. The battle for the middle relief roles projects to be rather fierce in the spring even without reinforcements.