There is a real question mark hovering over the Chicago Cubs offseason this winter.
While it’s known they are looking for roster upgrades, it’s not clear exactly how they will achieve that with their unwillingness to go over the first luxury tax threshold.
Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes are the hot names on the market, but it’s already been revealed that the front office will not make a push for either one of the stars despite both solving clear needs the Cubs have.
Starting pitching continues to be highlighted as an area Chicago is interested in pursuing, and catcher has been listed as their top priority ever since this past campaign ended, but without handing out top-of-the-market deals, it will be hard for them to land a game changing player.
Because of that, the Cubs are seen as a team who could be extremely busy when it comes to making trades.
With a plethora of star prospects in their pipeline, they could choose to ship out multiple minor leaguers to bolster their MLB roster.
However, there was also a bombshell report that indicated they are interested in shopping around Cody Bellinger and Nico Hoerner.
While entertaining trades for their young second baseman is absolutely something they should do considering Matt Shaw is on the verge of his Major League debut, shipping Bellinger out of town would be a massive mistake.
When he opted into his player option this offseason, that was seen as a gift considering the production the former MVP has had in Chicago after resurrecting his career following a tough stretch to close out his Los Angeles Dodgers tenure.
Not only has he slashed .286/.340/.475 with an OPS+ of 125 during his two years with the Cubs, but he’s also brought defensive versatility across the outfield and at first base which allows them to configure a lineup to match whatever pitching matchup they are facing that day.
His exploits on the field don’t take into the clubhouse leader he has become for this team as well, so not having him there to mentor some of the younger guys coming up could also negatively impact the future of this group.
Trading away Bellinger would make no sense for Chicago.
With them looking to become contenders right now and make the playoffs in 2025, sending out arguably their best hitter would do the complete opposite of that.
Perhaps they are able to get a rotation piece and reliever in a return package for the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year winner, but that would still drastically alter their offensive production, which was a major issue for the Cubs this past campaign.
Bellinger should be on the roster when Opening Day arrives.
It makes zero sense for Chicago to trade him when they are attempting to win an NL Central title for the first time in a standard 162-game season since 2017.
