Cubs Rumors: Unbelievable report has Cubs shopping Cody Bellinger AND Seiya Suzuki

Frankly, this feels way off base - and it's hard to imagine there being any truth in at least half of it.

Pittsburgh Pirates v Chicago Cubs
Pittsburgh Pirates v Chicago Cubs | Quinn Harris/GettyImages

OK, so I was going to start the second episode of Lioness on Paramount Plus. I'm waiting for the next episode of Landman and Yellowstone on Sunday and figured we'd try this out. Pilot episode was intense, but solid, we got our daughter down for bed and the 'relaxing' portion of the night was on deck.

But, no, instead, I sit here sharing and responding to a report that feels like it's little more than a source being way off base or something getting lost in translation along the way before Joel Sherman penned his latest over at the New York Post. I love this for me.

At its core, this is a piece assessing Bellinger's potential fit in the Bronx. New York has been interested in him for years now - and has re-emerged as a potential trade partner this winter with the Cubs actively shopping the veteran outfielder and first baseman. It's worth a read - there's nothing earth-shattering in there on that front that we haven't all pieced together before now - but one snippet has Cubs Twitter burning to the ground.

“The Cubs are determined to trade either Bellinger (due $27.5 million in 2025 with a $25 million player option in 2026 or $5 million buyout), or Seiya Suzuki (two years at $36 million) to reallocate that money elsewhere, a source familiar with Chicago’s thinking told The Post.”

Um, I'm sorry. WHAT? The tale for weeks now has been Jed Hoyer crawling from front office to front office, hat in hand, looking for someone to take Bellinger's contract off the Cubs' hands. That's not news (although his market does seem to be heating up, which is encouraging). But if they come up short there, they'll look to trade Suzuki?! No way.

There are so many problems with this logic - hence me being very skeptical of the report, as a whole. First, and foremost, Suzuki has a full no-trade clause. He's not going anywhere he doesn't want to go and that immediately throws a wrench in trying to move him. Second, we're talking about a Chicago team looking for ways to inject more offense. So why would Hoyer trade his most valuable offensive player? Please. Tell me. I would love an explanation.

I get it. The Cubs have no money. Or at least, they've chosen to play the offseason that way, seemingly needing to shed some payroll to make substantive roster additions. Unsatisfied with Bellinger's 2024 performance and him being on the books for nearly $30 million next year? Fine. If he's a 2.0-WAR player from here on out, then, yes, it's an overpay. But Suzuki makes just $18 million a year each of the next two seasons. He's not an overpriced player - not even close.

Oh. and let's just talk about the dream I'm desperately clinging to: that, somehow, the Cubs are the team that comes away with Roki Sasaki this winter. There's no world where trading Suzuki helps that effort. None.

I'm irritated because this report feels so off-base it's not even funny. I would be absolutely shocked if there was anything to the Cubs looking to trade Suzuki if they can't trade Bellinger. Thankfully, though, it sounds like they'll have multiple options at their disposal to dump the 2023 NL Comeback Player of the Year and even if (and that's a big if) there was anything to this, it won't ever come to fruition.

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