Chicago Cubs Rumors: Another national out gets their Cody Bellinger prediction wrong

It has become increasingly clear on the local level that as the Major League Baseball Trade approaches, the Chicago Cubs likely will be holding onto center fielder Cody Bellinger.

Bellinger has been a large part of the reason why the Cubs have won 8 of their last 10 games on the season and are now at the .500 mark on the season. The Cubs are within striking distance of both the National League Central race and the final Wild Card spot.

The Cubs are not going to trade Bellinger.

Bellinger has not only been a presence on the field for the Cubs but has emerged as a favorite within the clubhouse. That would be the reason why predictions like the one Stephen Nesbitt made in The Athletic are just flat-out wrong.

Prediction: Cubs trade Cody Bellinger … but tell fans they tried to keep him.

The Cubs telegraphed their intent with Marcus Stroman early this summer. They can’t give him a qualifying offer. They don’t want to extend him. They don’t want to let him walk. Trading Stroman was always the preferred play. Bellinger is a bit different. He’s extremely valuable in this trade market, but this version of Bellinger could also be central to the Cubs’ success in the coming years. So I think the Cubs will try to extend Bellinger. It won’t work. Scott Boras will want Brandon Nimmo money for Bellinger. So the Cubs will trade Bellinger to a contender and soon after, conveniently, we’ll start hearing details of the Cubs’ extension offer(s), redirecting fan ire toward Boras. A win-win for the Cubs. — SN

The one ask of national writers is that they don't insult fans intelligence.

Nesbitt tried to be cute with his prediction and theorize that the Cubs will tell fans that they tried to keep Bellinger in the event that a trade occurs.

No they won't.

If the Cubs trade Bellinger, Jed Hoyer will have no problem saying the true reason why is that he feels the move was to put the team in a better position next season. In fact, the one thing that all Cubs fan know as a certainty is that Bellinger will reach free agency. Bellinger is not the first time that the Cubs have had a superstar represented by Scott Boras and the team is well aware of what comes with that.

To that end, it's almost comical that Nesbitt thinks the Cubs would not match a Brandon Nimmo-type deal for Bellinger. Nimmo signed an 8-year, $162MM deal and the Cubs would match that price in an instant if that is what it takes to sign Bellinger.

What isn't a win for Cubs fans is when national writers get lazy with their ideas. That was the case with Nesbitt and his so-called "prediction".

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