Two Seiya Suzuki trade partners emerge for Cubs amidst growing drama at Winter Meetings

Tuesday took a dramatic turn at the Winter Meetings for where things stand between the Chicago Cubs and outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

While Suzuki has been mentioned on the periphery of Cubs' trade rumors this offseason, there never seemed to be much merit to the noise. That is until the noise came directly from Suzuki's agent. In addition to revealing that Jed Hoyer has broached the idea of a trade of his client, Joel Wolfe also revealed that Suzuki has no interest in being a designated hitter permanently.

While defending his client's stance, Wolfe suggested that Suzuki would not have signed with the Cubs if the goal was to transition him from the outfield to being the team's designated hitter. To that, the easy rebuttal from the Cubs would be to point to just about every defensive metric last season to prove that Suzuki's defensive shortcomings played a large factor in his being relegated to DH duty toward the end of the 2024 season.

Nevertheless, Tuesday's development seems to suggest that a Suzuki trade this offseason is far more likely than once believed.

Two early teams emerge in Seiya Suzuki trade talks

While the Cubs have not approached Wolfe with a specific trade involving Suzuki, Jesse Rogers of ESPN confirms that the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners are the early teams to express interest in the Cubs' outfielder.

The Mariners appear to be at the center of every trade rumor involving the Cubs. While Nico Hoerner seemed to be the player of interest for the Mariners, Suzuki could lead to the Cubs receiving starting pitcher Luis Castillo in return.

It's tough to get a clear read and where things stand between the Cubs and Suzuki. Along those lines, it seems like an important time to remind everyone that the Cubs dismissed Suzuki's original translator around the time that he transitioned from the outfield to being the team's designated hitter last season. The stated reason from the Cubs at the time was that the organization was looking to improve the communication between the outfielder and the team's coaching staff. Time will tell if these current rumors will prove to be just that or if the rift between player and team is only starting to grow.