Cubs Rumors: Surprising Seiya Suzuki trade idea creates a new reality

Now that the dust has settled with Kyle Tucker, the new anchor in the Chicago Cubs' lineup, and Cody Bellinger, a member of the New York Yankees, the expectation was that the Cubs were done with major movement from the position-player side of their roster.

With third base now open for Matt Shaw, it would seem unlikely that the Cubs would move Nico Hoerner. Even though Seiya Suzuki doesn't prefer to be the team's designated hitter, the trade of Belligner all but confirmed the trade rumors involving Suzuki would be put to rest.

That is until Ken Rosenthal dropped a surprising tidbit when talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are currently at an impasse with Teoscar Hernandez.

"The potential options, according to sources briefed on the team’s discussions, include infielder Ha-Seong Kim in free agency and Chicago Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki, Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and others in trade," Rosenthal reports.

The Seiya Suzuki trade rumors won't go away.

The Dodgers' priority seems to be bringing Hernandez back but the two sides have yet to make signficiant ground in contract negotiations.

Given the trade rumors that surfaced for Suzuki at the Winter Meetings, it would be natural for the Dodgers to make a call and check on his availability. However, since the Winter Meetings, the Cubs have made it clear they have no intention of trading Suzuki. Even, in his reporting, Rosenthal mentioned that the Cubs are not overly motivated to trade Suzuki given the difficulty they would be faced with in trying to replace him.

Suzuki has a no-trade clause but Rosenthal mentioned that the outfielder may be willing to approve a trade if it meant more playing time in the outfielder. A reminder, Suzuki's agent, Joel Wolfe, confirmed a trade this offseason was unlikely, and there were only a small number of teams that a trade would be approved to.

Nonetheless, while it remains a probability that Suzuki will be in the Cubs' starting lineup on Opening Day, the chances of him being moved in the future are more likely today than they were at the end of the season.