Chicago Cubs News: Much discussed Cody Bellinger to Yankees trade completed

The Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees were in a staring contest for much of the past week with regard to a trade that would send Cody Bellinger to the Yankees after New York missed on their attempt to bring back Juan Soto in free agency.

As the Cubs and Yankees were haggling over the financial ramifications of Bellinger's contract, the impression was that the two sides would eventually reach an agreement.

That agreement was indeed reached on Tuesday afternoon as Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to break the news.

There will be eyebrows raised over the fact that the Cubs got a 30-year-old reliever in Cody Poteet who only has 83 innings pitched at the Major League level over the course of his career. Poteet could be a factor on the Major League pitching staff in 2025 but the goal in the deal for the Cubs was for the Yankees to take on a majority of the remaining money on Bellinger's contract.

One lazy narrative that will be making the rounds in the immediate aftermath of the Bellinger trade is that the Cubs have provided a sequel to the Yu Darvish trade following the 2020 season. The Cubs moved Darvish in what was a pure salary dump where the team had no interest in using the money saved on the Major League roster for the 2021 season. The Bellinger trade does not fall into that bucket.

Part of the reason why the Cubs wanted to move Bellinger was because instead of having $52.5MM potentially locked into one player, the Cubs wanted to spread that money across several needs on the Major League roster.

It's a feeling that leaves Cubs fans wanting more and there will be more moves made by the Cubs this offseason. In fact, now that the Cubs have the Bellinger trade completed, don't be shocked if a Jesús Luzardo trade is completed in the near future.