Latest Cody Bellinger report suggests Jed Hoyer's hands are tied this offseason

At $27.5 million, the Chicago Cubs need more out of Cody Bellinger next season. There's no two ways around it. Another subpar offensive performance from their second-highest paid player could leave the team on the outside looking in again next fall - an unacceptable outcome for everyone involved.

A new report from the New York Post (subscription required) reinforces what we already know: the Cubs' ability to re-shape the roster was greatly impacted by Bellinger's decision to opt in to the second year of his deal - especially with ownership and the front ofifce determined to sneak back under the first luxury tax threshold after inexcusably crossing it by the slimmest of margins this season.

That leaves Jed Hoyer just a tick over $50 million to play with this winter, assuming he doesn't unload someone like Bellinger as a means of getting wildly creative to breathe new life into a roster that's fallen short of expectations two years in a row. A serious run at someone like Juan Soto or Corbin Burnes is out of the question - and putting all your eggs in the Roki Sasaki basket is fraught with risk and potential disappointment.

With a roster loaded with no-trade clauses and a relatively modest budget to work with in free agency, Hoyer and the front office is going to have to leave no stone unturned. The wide-held belief is the Cubs will look more to the trade market than free agency - but even so, it'll be all eyes on that $241 million CBT threshold all winter long.

Chicago likes to leave itself some financial wiggle room for in-season acquisitions, so that $241 million mark is probably a bit high - being somewhere in the $230 million neighborhood is more likely. $40 million to add a front-end starter, quality catcher and shore up the bullpen leaves next to no margin for error - now we wait and see if Hoyer is up to the challenge.