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Doug Bird Passes Away

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11-year MLB veteran Doug Bird passed away late last month, according to an obituary from a North Carolina funeral home. The former Royals, Phillies, Yankees, Cubs, and Red Sox right-hander was 74 years old.

A California native in his early years, Bird was drafted by the Royals in the summer of 1969. He spent the next few years as a starter in the minor leagues before making his big league debut with Kansas City on April 29, 1973 as a reliever. His rookie season out of the bullpen was a strong one, as he pitched to an excellent 2.99 ERA in 102 1/3 innings of work. It was more of the same over the next two years, as Bird would go on to post a 3.01 ERA in 197 2/3 frames from 1974-75.

That strong resume in relief earned Bird a move into the rotation for the Royals’ 1976 season, though he still made 12 appearances out of the bullpen on top of his 27 starts that year. Bird was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm for the Royals that year, posting a 3.37 ERA that clocked in just above league average across his 197 2/3 innings of work. 1976 also saw Bird pitch in the first of three consecutive ALCS match-ups between the Royals and Yankees. He earned the win in Game 4 of the ’76 ALCS with 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in relief of southpaw Larry Gura.

In 1977 and beyond, Bird moved back into a relief role. That change suited him just fine, as he told Norman L. Macht in a 2003 interview about his career that he preferred working out of the bullpen because starting pitchers were stuck “sitting around for four days doing nothing.” He took a bit of a step back in terms of productivity over his final two seasons with the Royals, as he surrendered a 4.52 ERA in 217 innings spread across 11 starts and 82 relief appearances before being traded to the Phillies in April of 1979. Bird’s stint with the Phillies was short-lived, however, as he struggled through one season with the club before being released by the club.

That led Bird to sign on with the Yankees, and he enjoyed something of a career renaissance with the club in the early 1980’s. While he donned pinstripes for just parts of two seasons, he was nothing short of excellent out of the Bronx bullpen during that time with a 2.68 ERA in 104 dominant innings of work. He was traded to Chicago partway through the 1981 season, however, and found himself moved back into a rotation role with the Cubs. The experiment went pretty well down the stretch that year, as Bird posted an above-average 3.58 ERA in 75 1/3 innings of work across 12 starts, but the 1982 season left much to be desired as he surrendered a 5.14 ERA in 191 innings before being traded to the Red Sox for the final season of his career. He pitched 67 2/3 frames for Boston before retiring that September at the age of 33.

Across his 11 seasons in the major leagues, the right-hander went 73-60 with a 3.99 ERA in 1213 2/3 innings of work. Those of us at MLBTR extend our condolences to Bird’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Nico Hoerner Undergoes Flexor Tendon Surgery

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The Cubs announced that infielder Nico Hoerner underwent right flexor tendon surgery on October 11, with Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune among those to relay the news on X. The club hasn’t yet provided an estimated timeline for his recovery.

The news comes out of nowhere, as there was no prior indication there was anything wrong with Hoerner’s throwing arm. He didn’t go on the injured list at any point in 2024, playing in 151 games. He did miss a bit of time with hamstring tightness in May and he also suffered a hand fracture from a hit-by-pitch in June, but was back in the lineup after a few days off.

His arm strength has tailed off in recent years, however, which was perhaps a warning sign. In the 2020-22 seasons, he averaged between 81 and 83 miles per hour on his throws from second base. That dropped to 78.1 mph last year and 75.1 mph in 2024.

Hoerner is coming off his third straight season of fairly consistent production, with above-average contributions on offense, defense and on the basepaths. At the plate, he doesn’t provide a lot of power but is very tough to strike out and gets on-base enough to get above par overall. In each of the past three seasons, his home run total has finished between seven and ten while his wRC+ has been between 103 and 108.

In 2022, he stole 20 bases in 22 tries. That seems to have prompted a more aggressive approach, which led to a few more steals but also a few more outs. In 2023, he made 50 steal attempts, succeeding 43 times. In 2024, it was 31 steals in 37 tries.

Defensively, he has received strong grades at his primary position of second base, as well as filling in at shortstop. If it weren’t for the presence of Dansby Swanson on the roster, Hoerner likely could have provided strong glovework at short on a regular basis. FanGraphs has considered Hoerner to be worth between 3.9 and 4.6 wins above replacement in each of those three campaigns, reflecting his steady performance.

Prior to this news, there was a speculative case for the Cubs to make Hoerner available in trades. He and the Cubs signed an extension in 2023, a three-year pact that guaranteed him $35MM over the 2024-26 seasons. There are still two years remaining on that deal, with Hoerner to make $11.5MM next year and $12MM in 2026.

This winter’s shortstop free agent class is pretty thin. Willy Adames is the top guy and he was to be followed by Ha-Seong Kim, but Kim recently underwent shoulder surgery and it’s unclear if he will be ready for Opening Day 2025. For clubs that miss out on Adames, their best bets will be guys who are likely viewed as a tier below an everyday option, with names like Paul DeJong, Nick Ahmed and Kyle Farmer in this group.

There likely would have been some clubs interested in acquiring Hoerner and moving him back to shortstop. The Cubs could have entertained the idea since they have a strong farm system. The current top 100 list at MLB Pipeline features eight Cubs, including six that have reached the Triple-A level. Two of those are infielders Matt Shaw and James Triantos, both of whom are capable of playing second base.

There are only so many ways that the Cubs can open space for those prospects, as Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Swanson all have full no-trade protection. Hoerner doesn’t have such a clause. Making him available in trades could have allowed the Cubs to upgrade their pitching staff in a trade, with Shaw and/or Triantos filling the void.

Perhaps that plan will now be less viable with the news of this surgery, as clubs will naturally have some hesitation about acquiring Hoerner until his prognosis is more clear. If Hoerner ends up staying with the Cubs and missing some of the 2025 season, perhaps guys like Shaw or Triantos will have a path to Opening Day roles. Third baseman Isaac Paredes also has second base experience and could slide over, opening up the hot corner.

MLBTR Podcast: Changes In Minnesota, Cubs’ Prospect Depth, And Possibilities For The O’s

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • With Jed Hoyer in the last year of his contract, how aggressive will the Cubs be this offseason? Also, with so many top 100 prospects nearing the majors, how will that impact their offseason decisions? (10:10)
  • What is the feeling about the Orioles possible spending this offseason? Is there a sense of what could happen or is more wait-and-see in the inside baseball world? (26:55)
  • What do the Rangers need to do in this offseason in order to be competitive next year.  Any specific players they need to target? (32:45)
  • Willson Contreras seems like a logical fit for the Blue Jays if the Cardinals decide to move him. Only problem might be the return since the Cardinals want to shed money. Would this be likely? (34:55)
  • The Padres have spent significant resources to build its current roster, but the World Series title continues to elude them. With potential payroll issues looming, how do they maintain their success for 2025 and beyond? They have a good lineup and great bullpen, but how do they avoid being worse in 2025? (39:50)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Previewing FA Starting Pitchers, TV Deals, And Potential Spending Teams – listen here
  • Buster Posey Takes Over In SF And The Cardinals’ Succession Plan – listen here
  • Final Days In Oakland, The Surging Tigers, And If The Nats Will Pursue Juan Soto – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Ricketts Discusses Hoyer, Cubs’ Payroll

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The Cubs missed the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. Chicago finished 83-79 for a second straight year. That’s a frustrating outcome in a down NL Central — especially since Chicago added around $30MM to its Opening Day payroll relative to 2023, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Owner Tom Ricketts spoke with Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune about the team’s payroll outlook. Ricketts confirmed that the Cubs narrowly exceeded the $237MM base competitive balance tax threshold — as president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer suggested they would in August. Like most owners, Ricketts didn’t provide a clear answer as to whether he’d be willing to pay the tax for a second straight year.

“The penalties on CBT, they grow over time and so you want to be careful when you do it,” Ricketts said. “And so if there’s ever some point in the future where there’s a large financial commitment you want to make midseason, you have to be thoughtful about it.” Ricketts is referencing the escalating penalties for teams that pay the tax in consecutive seasons. The Cubs stayed below the CBT threshold in 2023, so they’re first-time payors this year. That’ll subject them to a 20% tax on their first $20MM in overages. Cot’s estimates that they were only about $300K over the line, so the actual tax payment (roughly $55K) is more or less a rounding error for an MLB team.

Paying at all means the Cubs would be taxed at a 30% rate for their first $20MM in overages if they surpass the threshold next season. That jumps to 42% for the next $20MM and comes with higher penalties (75% and 90%) for the respective $20MM after that. The penalties would increase if the Cubs paid the tax for a third straight year.

The CBT also includes higher penalties for teams that lose or add a free agent who declined a qualifying offer. The Cubs don’t have any impending free agents who’ll get a QO. If they signed a qualified free agent, they’d forfeit their second- and fifth-highest selections in the 2025 draft and $1MM in international bonus pool space.

Next year’s base threshold climbs to $241MM. Cot’s projects the Cubs around $150MM in CBT obligations. That assumes Cody Bellinger will not opt out of the final two seasons on his contract but does not include arbitration projections. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects the entire arbitration class to cost around $33MM if they were all tendered contracts. Moving on from some or all of Patrick Wisdom, Yency Almonte, Christian Bethancourt, Julian Merryweather, Nick Madrigal, Trey Wingenter, Jimmy Herget and Colten Brewer could knock that down to the $20MM range.

That’d leave approximately $70MM before the lowest threshold, so there’s a lot of payroll room before the tax becomes a concern. Ricketts’ note about the potential for midseason acquisitions could point to a preference to stay below the tax line during the offseason. A team’s CBT number isn’t calculated until the end of the season. Salary acquired in midseason pickups counts on a prorated basis in the calculation.

Allocating those resources will be at Hoyer’s discretion. The front office leader is entering the final season of the five-year extension that he signed in 2020. Chicago is still seeking its first playoff appearance since Theo Epstein turned the reins to Hoyer after the ’20 season.

It’s relatively common for teams to sign executives and coaches to extensions before the final year of their deal, thereby preventing from operating in a lame duck situation. Ricketts sidestepped a question regarding a potential Hoyer extension. “He’s under contract, that’s the way I see it,” the owner told Montemurro. “I think he’s motivated. … I think Jed’s going to have a great offseason and put us back in the playoffs next year.”

Cubs, Third Base Coach Willie Harris To Part Ways

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The Cubs and third base coach Willie Harris are parting ways, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score on X. Levine characterizes the split as mutual with the sides on good terms. He adds that Harris is open to other coaching positions.

Harris, 46, played in the majors from 2001 to 2012, suiting up for the Orioles, White Sox, Red Sox, Atlanta, Nationals, Mets and Reds. After his playing days were done, he moved into coaching, spending some time in the minors. The Cubs hired him as third base coach going into the 2021 season, working under manager David Ross.

Craig Counsell took over as the Cubs’ skipper coming into 2024, inheriting Mike Napoli as first base coach with Harris at third. It was reported last week that Napoli and a couple of other coaches won’t be returning and today’s news means the Cubs have yet another coaching vacancy to fill.

Back in August, Scott Merkin of MLB.com spoke to Harris about the managerial job with the White Sox, shortly after Pedro Grifol had been fired with Grady Sizemore taking over on an interim basis. Harris said that he would be interested in being the skipper of the White Sox but it’s unclear if that interest runs the other way.

“I would absolutely love it if they showed interest in me being the leader of this organization, this team,” Harris said. “But I also understand how it goes. It’s a waiting process. If they call, great, I’ll be ready. I’ll be prepared.”

Offseason Outlook: Chicago Cubs

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The Cubs enter 2025 with an excellent opportunity to make the playoffs for the first time under Jed Hoyer.  Cody Bellinger's decision will help determine Hoyer's path, but the club will be seeking help at catcher and in the rotation and bullpen.

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

  • Cody Bellinger, RF/CF/DH/1B: $27.5MM player option with a $2.5MM buyout.  Also has a $25MM player option for '26 with a $5MM buyout
  • Drew Smyly, RP: $10MM mutual option with a $2.5MM buyout

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Cubs' splashy hiring of Craig Counsell last November had minimal impact this year, as the club posted the same 83-79 record it had under David Ross in 2023.  A 17-10 April record created some optimism, but the Cubs went 65-67 thereafter and were mostly out of the playoff race by July.  Let's take a look around the Cubs' roster and figure out how president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer might go about creating a 90-win team for 2025, a particularly ripe opportunity with the Cardinals taking a rare step back.

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The Surprise Ace Of Last Year’s Free Agent Class

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As the 22 teams that aren’t currently focused on capturing the 2024 World Series title gear up for the coming offseason, many will surely be keeping an eye on the number of high-profile free agent starters set to hit the market this winter with Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Jack Flaherty among the consensus top arms. It’s a class that’s not entirely dissimilar from last winter’s group of top arms, which was headlined by a quartet of Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Aaron Nola, and Jordan Montgomery.

Those top free agent arms garnered a combined guarantee of more than $600MM last winter, and the results were generally commensurate with that production. While Montgomery struggled badly with the Diamondbacks, Nola put up a fairly typical season by his standards with the Phillies this year (albeit with slightly diminished peripherals) and both Snell and Yamamoto fought through injury woes to dominate as expected when healthy. That said, a starter who was looked at more as a mid-rotation type of arm last winter surprised the baseball world by emerging with numbers comparable to those at the very top of the class.

That hurler was Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga, who was generally looked at as a tier below the aforementioned group alongside Eduardo Rodriguez, Lucas Giolito, and Sonny Gray. In spite of rumors that Imanaga’s market could top $100MM when all was said and done, the southpaw lingered in free agency into the new year before eventually signing with Chicago on a deal that fell far below expectations. While the deal maxes out at five years and $80MM, just a stone’s throw away from MLBTR’s prediction of $85MM over five years, the deal came with a complex structure that only guaranteed Imanaga $53MM, or roughly two thirds of that $80MM total figure.

It’s not hard to see why teams were seemingly bearish on Imanaga. After all, the 30-year-old lefty was coming over from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball at an age that’s roughly in line with a typical MLB free agent rather than the younger age many NPB players such as Yamamoto and teammate Seiya Suzuki make their way to the majors at. Yamamoto was marketing his age-25 season last year, while Suzuki marketed his age-27 season over the 2021-22 offseason. With many of Imanaga’s prime years already behind him, he maintained all the risk of providing a hefty sum to a player with no MLB experience without much of the perceived upside that would come with signing a player in their mid-20s.

Even aside from Imanaga’s age, it’s also worth noting that the lefty’s profile as a pitcher drew significant questions. The southpaw doesn’t throw especially hard, having averaged just 91.9mph on his heater this year, and some scouting reports (including one from Brandon Tew of Sports Info Solutions) raised questions about his ability to manage home runs at the big league level due to his fly ball-oriented profile. While Imanaga’s deep pitch mix and high-end stuff metrics offered reason for optimism regarding his future in the big leagues, the lefty nevertheless entered his first MLB season with plenty of questions surrounding him.

Fortunately for both Imanaga and the Cubs, he answered those questions in resounding fashion with an excellent rookie campaign. Overall, the lefty posted a 2.91 ERA (37% better than league average by ERA+) with a strong 25.1% strikeout rate that was 16th-best among qualified starters this year. He paired that strikeout stuff with excellent control, walking just 4% of opponents faced this year. That’s a figure topped by only George Kirby, Miles Mikolas, and Zach Eflin among all big leaguers this year and leaves him with a fantastic 21% K-BB that leaves him sandwiched between ace righties Zack Wheeler and Dylan Cease on the NL leaderboard.

That being said, not everything about Imanaga’s 2024 performance was dominant. His 3.72 FIP is rather pedestrian (just 6% better than league average by FIP-) and more advanced metrics such as xERA and SIERA, while more bullish than FIP on his performance, nonetheless see him as more of a 3.50 ERA pitcher than the 2.91 figure he actually posted this year. The main culprit for that discrepancy between results and metrics is the very same weakness that drew some skepticism last winter: his proclivity for giving up homers. Imanaga surrendered 27 home runs this year, tied with Twins righty Bailey Ober for ninth-most among all qualified starters in 2024.

While that’s certainly not a completely untenable figure, it would certainly be fair to wonder if Imanaga is due for some regression heading into next season. Of the eight pitchers who surrendered more homers than Imanaga this year, none came close to his sterling ERA with only Nola (3.57) and Jose Berrios (3.60) posting an figure that was even within a full run of Imanaga’s 2.91 mark. Between his hefty home run rate and an above-average 80.2% strand rate this year, it would hardly be a surprise if the emergent ace put up numbers closer to the mid-rotation ceiling he was thought to have this time last year come 2025.

Of course, even a step back that aligns Imanaga’s performance more closely with his advanced metrics would leave the Cubs with an excellent #2 starter behind ace Justin Steele who they should have no concerns about starting in a hypothetical playoff series. Barring dramatic regression on the part of Imanaga next year, it seems very likely that the Cubs will guarantee the lefty the full $80MM value of his contract rather than risk him opting out following the 2025 campaign, which he would be able to do if the Cubs decline to guarantee the full contract.

Cubs Part Ways With First Base Coach Mike Napoli

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The Cubs are making some coaching changes, as relayed by Jesse Rogers of ESPN on X. The club is letting go of first base coach Mike Napoli, assistant hitting coach Jim Adduci, bullpen coach Darren Holmes and “a couple of strength coaches.”

All three of the coaches are former major league ball players. Napoli was in the majors from 2006 to 2017, mostly as a catcher and first baseman. After retiring, he joined the Cubs’ coaching staff going into the 2020 season as quality assurance coach. He became the club’s first base coach going into the 2022 season.

Adduci’s major league career spanned from 2013 to 2019, but with a two-year stint in the KBO sandwiched in there, as he played in Korea in 2015 and 2016. The Cubs hired him going into 2021 with the title of run production coordinator, though his current title is listed on MLB.com as “assistant hitting coach, game planning.”

Holmes pitched in the majors from 1990 to 2003. He has worked as a bullpen coach for multiple organizations in recent years, taking that title with the Rockies from 2015 to 2019, the Orioles from 2020 to 2023 and the Cubs in 2024.

The Cubs hired Craig Counsell to be their manager in November of last year. His first season in Wrigley resulted in a record of 83-79, the same mark the club posted last year. It’s always difficult to tell how much blame/credit should go to any individual coach when staffs are composed of dozens of people, but it seems Counsell and the Cubs have decided to make a few changes as they look to take a step forward next year.

Cubs Release Shawn Armstrong

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September 26: Armstrong has been released, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

September 20: The Cubs announced that they have activated right-hander Hayden Wesneski from the 15-day injured list, with fellow righty Shawn Armstrong designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to relay the moves on X.

Armstrong, 34, only joined the club three weeks ago. His results in a small sample of appearances since then have been fine and this move says more about the club than about him. He was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals at the end of August when the Cubs were within five games of a playoff spot with a month left to go. Now they’re seven games back with just over a week remaining on the schedule.

The veteran righty is an impending free agent, so the Cubs have little use for him now as they play out the string on this season. They will put him on waivers in the coming days. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming club, so there’s little incentive for one still in contention to put in a claim as they would have to take on the remainder of his $2.05MM salary. That would be less than $100K by the time the waiver process plays out but the club would also only receive about a week of Armstrong’s services in exchange.

Armstrong has already pitched for three teams this year, tossing 66 2/3 innings between the Rays, Cardinals and Cubs. His 4.86 earned run average isn’t terribly impressive but his other numbers paint a nicer picture. His 22.4% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate are both fairly close to league average. His .362 batting average on balls in play seems to be hurting him, which is why his 3.58 FIP and 3.95 SIERA are significantly better than his ERA.

The Rays got good results out of Armstrong in the previous two seasons. He tossed 55 innings for them in 2022 with a 3.60 ERA. Last year, he gave the Rays 52 innings with a tiny ERA of 1.38. That number is surely a little misleading, as his .250 BABIP and 80.9% strand rate helped him out, but he did post a 26.1% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate.

This year, as mentioned, his ERA hasn’t been as strong. But the Cardinals evidently believed in the under-the-hood numbers, as they sent two-plus years of Dylan Carlson to the Rays in order to get Armstrong prior to the deadline. Just a few weeks into August, they had slid enough in the standings that they put Armstrong on waivers and saved a bit of money by having the Cubs claim him.

If Armstrong goes unclaimed in the coming days, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and keep what’s left of this year’s salary, so perhaps he will get his offseason started a few days ahead of schedule. That is unless some team in a tight playoff race will be interested in snagging him off the wire for the final week of the season.

Cubs Recall Kevin Alcantara For MLB Debut

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The Cubs recalled top outfield prospect Kevin Alcantara to the active roster this afternoon and optioned infielder Miles Mastrobuoni to the minor leagues in a corresponding move. Alcantara’s first appearance in a game will be his big league debut.

The 22-year-old was first acquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline in 2021 as the headliner going back to Chicago in the deal that sent longtime first baseman Anthony Rizzo to the Yankees alongside right-hander Alexander Vizcaino. Since then, Vizcaino was released by the Cubs after just six games in the organization and is now out of affiliated ball. Fortunately, Alcantara has blossomed with the Cubs into an impressive player on both sides of the ball and even become a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport: the hulking, 6’6” outfielder ranks 60th at ESPN, 69th at MLB.com, and 77th at Baseball America as of each service’s most recent update.

The outfielder has never posted a wRC+ below 123 at any level of the minor leagues since donning a Cubs uniform for the first time, and though he’s not yet hit more than 15 homers or stolen 15 bases in a full season of minor league action to this point in his career scouts have routinely lauded his plus power and speed potential. In 111 games at the Double- and Triple-A levels this year, Alcantara has slashed a solid .278/.353/.428 with 14 homers and 14 steals, including a hot streak in 35 games at Triple-A that’s seen him hit .292/.378/.469 in his first 148 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors.

One potential red flag in his profile is his tendency towards swing-and-miss: he’s struck out in 25.1% of his plate appearances at the Double-A level throughout his career, and so far in Triple-A that number has jumped up to 29.1%. It’s a flaw Alcantara will surely need to work on in order to reach his potential as an above-average regular in the majors, though his tools still leave plenty of room for optimism about his ceiling. He’s paired that exciting offensive potential with a strong glove that receives positive marks in center field, though scouts have long noted that his strong arm is more than enough for right field as well should he ultimately move to a corner.

With defensive standout Pete Crow-Armstrong having taken over center on a full-time basis in Chicago, it seems likely that right field would be Alcantara’s long-term defensive home in the majors in the event that he manages to work his way into a regular role with the club in the coming years. That may be easier said than done, however. After all, the club’s outfield mix is currently loaded with talent at the big league level with Crow-Armstrong set to patrol center at Wrigley for the next half decade and both Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki locked into the outfield corners through at least the 2026 season. Cody Bellinger has been the club’s regular right fielder since Crow-Armstrong’s arrival, pushing Suzuki to DH and potentially opening a path for Alcantara to work his way into the outfield mix should Bellinger opt out of his contract and return to free agency this winter.

Bellinger opting out of his deal in Chicago is hardly a guarantee, however, and Michael Busch has seemingly locked down his other position of first base for the foreseeable future. Fellow top outfield prospect Owen Caissie is also at the Triple-A level and could debut as soon as next season, further adding to the logjam of outfield options in Chicago. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cubs look to leverage their outfield depth in an offseason trade this winter to address other areas of the roster given the relative lack of opportunity available to Alcantara (and, for that matter, Caissie) at the big league level, particularly if Bellinger decides to opt in. Both Happ and Suzuki have no-trade clauses, however, somewhat limiting the club’s options to explore trades in that regard.

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