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Cubs Designate Cody Poteet For Assignment

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The Cubs announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Cody Poteet for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to righty Brad Keller, who has now formally been selected to the roster. The Cubs also placed righties Tyson Miller (left hip impingement), righty Ryan Brasier (groin strain) and infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan (elbow sprain) on the injured list and recalled righty Eli Morgan from Triple-A Iowa.

Poteet, 30, was the lone player the Cubs received in the trade sending Cody Bellinger to the Yankees. That swap was always more about dumping Bellinger’s salary than adding to the system, and today’s DFA only further underscores that reality.

A fourth-rounder by the Marlins in 2015, Poteet has pitched in parts of three big league seasons between Miami and New York. He posted a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 frames for the Yanks last year and carries an overall 3.80 mark in 83 MLB innings. He was sharp in 53 minor league innings last year as well, recording a 3.40 ERA. Poteet isn’t a flamethrower, sitting 93.8 mph with his four-seamer and 92.6 mph with his sinker. He complements those fastballs with a slider, curveball and changeup, rounding out a five-pitch arsenal.

Poteet has punched out 20.2% of his big league opponents against a 10.2% walk rate. Both are worse than average, though not necessarily by wide margins. In parts of five Triple-A campaigns, he’s logged a 4.47 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. Poteet still has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if a team acquires him in a trade or claims him off waivers, he can be optioned directly to Triple-A. That could make him an appealing target for clubs seeking affordable rotation depth.

The Cubs owed Bellinger $52.5MM over the next two seasons, though he can opt out of the contract this year and trim $20MM off that guarantee if he feels there are greener pastures in free agency. Chicago paid $5MM of that sum to help facilitate the swap but saved $47.5MM overall. Bellinger was seen as a poor fit on the roster, with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki in the outfield mix and Michael Busch at first base. Time will tell whether the club is better off for it, but for the moment the only thing they have to show for the trade is salary relief and about $25MM of breathing room between the current payroll and the luxury tax threshold.

Yankees Notes: LeMahieu, Outfield, Judge

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It’s been a tough few days on the injury front for Yankees fans. After the club announced yesterday that right-hander Luis Gil is set to undergo an MRI due to shoulder troubles and not long after it was made public that slugger Giancarlo Stanton will begin the season on the injured list due to soreness in both elbows, another potentially key player for the club went down with a potential injury: veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu.

As noted by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, manager Aaron Boone told reporters this afternoon that LeMahieu “tweaked” a calf muscle during his second at-bat during today’s game, which was LeMahieu’s spring debut. LeMahieu is receiving treatment for the issue, but Boone called the situation “at least a little concerning” given the veteran’s recent injury history. LeMahieu was limited to just 67 games due to a number of injuries last year, including a hip impingement that ultimately ended his season.

It’s a particularly troubling development seeing as LeMahieu was a likely candidate to be the club’s starting third baseman on Opening Day. A recent MLBTR Poll suggested that 27.5% of respondents expected LeMahieu to receive the lion’s share of playing time at third base this year. That was enough to beat out both Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as the top internal candidate for the job, though a 34% plurality of respondents suggested that the Yankees’ primary solution at the hot corner was likely to be someone not yet in the organization.

Perhaps today’s injury will make that more likely if LeMahieu winds up unable to get back in time for the beginning of the season later this month, though the pickings remain quite slim on the market with part-time veteran Jose Iglesias standing out as the best infield option still available. If the Yankees can’t find an external solution for the hot corner before Opening Day, it seems likely that Cabrera and Peraza will handle the position in a timeshare until LeMahieu is ready to return, though it’s possible a player such as Jorbit Vivas or Pablo Reyes could make a push for the job as well.

Aside from the news regarding LeMahieu, Hoch suggests that the injury to Stanton could lead to a realigned outfield with Trent Grisham joining the lineup in center field, with Cody Bellinger sliding from center to right field and Aaron Judge moving to DH. Such an arrangement would improve the club’s defense overall by adding a plus glove in center field while also avoiding injury risks for Judge, the reigning AL MVP who stands out as the club’s most important player entering the year. Hoch adds that Boone noted that giving Judge occasional partial days off at DH could be valuable early in the season, though Boone was quick to emphasize that he also values Judge’s ability to contribute on defense in right field. On days where Grisham isn’t joining the lineup in center field and pushing a regular to DH, the club’s internal options to fill in for Stanton include youngster Ben Rice and non-roster invitee Dominic Smith.

Sticking with Judge, the MVP spoke to reporters (including Hoch) this afternoon about his desire to get more at-bats under his belt during Spring Training this year. Today was Judge’s first appearance in a Spring Training game of the year, and notably he received just 24 official at-bats in the spring last season. Judge suggested that additional reps before the season begins could help him to prevent a slow start like the one he had last year, where he batted just .197/.331/.393 in his first 149 trips to the plate before turning his season around in early May and hitting a sensational .357/.492/.787 the rest of the way. Obviously, that type of otherworldly production over the majority of the season would be more than enough to make up for another early-season slump, but Judge’s goal of getting something closer to 40 or 50 plate appearances in this spring is an understandable one given his struggles early last year.

Yankees Planning To Play Jasson Dominguez In Left Field

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone appeared on WFAN with Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata this afternoon. He fielded a few questions about the team’s position player mix.

Boone indicated that his starting outfield was likely to comprise Jasson Domínguez in left field, Cody Bellinger in center, and Aaron Judge in right. Trent Grisham is ticketed for a fourth outfield role. The eighth-year skipper suggested he hoped to keep Domínguez mostly in left field while using Bellinger a bit more flexibly. He noted that there’ll be days when Judge serves as a designated hitter while Giancarlo Stanton gets a day off. In those instances, Grisham would likely draw into center field with Bellinger kicking over to right.

The most notable aspect is that the Yankees are preparing for Domínguez to get everyday run. Owner Hal Steinbrenner made similar comments in an interview with Meredith Marakovitz of the YES Network this afternoon. “I see him as the starting left fielder,” Steinbrenner replied when asked about Domínguez’s role. “There’ll be a lot of meetings and discussions in Spring Training obviously and we’ll see how he performs and how he feels, but everybody’s very excited about him.”

Domínguez, who turns 22 next month, should be ticketed for his first extended big league audition. He drilled four homers in eight games as a 20-year-old back in 2023. An elbow injury then ended his season and required Tommy John surgery that shelved him into the middle of June. New York seemed reluctant to give Domínguez regular run fresh off the injury. He bounced on and off the active roster for the final six weeks of the season, though the Yanks stuck with Alex Verdugo as their everyday player in left field. Domínguez got into 18 games and struggled to a .179/.313/.304 slash.

The switch-hitting outfielder remains one of the game’s top young talents. Baseball America ranked Domínguez as New York’s top prospect and among the sport’s 30 best prospects on their updated Top 100 list. He has been a strong performer in the minors. Domínguez has a .253/.360/.430 line across parts of three Double-A seasons and carries a huge .325/.391/.495 mark in 230 plate appearances with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Boone added that with the current roster makeup, he views Jazz Chisholm Jr. as the starter at second base. He named DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as players who could battle for playing time at third base. New York has been linked to free agents Jorge Polanco and Brendan Rodgers, so there’s still a chance for an acquisition to push Chisholm back to the hot corner.

Chisholm has only started two games at second base since 2022. He played there regularly with the Marlins early in his career before moving to center field. Miami brought him back into the infield shortly before last summer’s deadline in a thinly veiled effort to expand his versatility to trade partners.

The Yankees acquired him and installed him at third base in deference to Gleyber Torres. Chisholm played his first 400 career innings at the hot corner in the Bronx. Statcast graded him highly in that sample, though Defensive Runs Saved had him slightly below average. Both metrics have given Chisholm plus grades for his second base work. He has a little more than 1300 career innings at the position, most of which came between 2021-22.

MLBTR Podcast: Brent Rooker’s Extension, Gavin Lux, And Catching Up On The Holiday Transactions

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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 Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

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

Blue Jays Had Shown Interest In Cody Bellinger

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After weeks of discussion between the Cubs and Yankees, Cody Bellinger landed in the Bronx. Before that was finalized, the Mariners and Astros were among the teams that had been loosely tied to the former MVP in trade rumors.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported just after the Bellinger trade that the Blue Jays had also been involved in talks with Chicago. It looks as if Toronto ended as the runner-up. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters this afternoon that the Cubs had narrowed it down to two teams and decided they would pull the trigger on an offer by Tuesday (relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). “If we didn’t pull him down, he would’ve been off the board,” Cashman added. While the GM declined to identify the other team, reading between the lines makes it seem that the Jays finished in second.

Toronto has had longstanding interest in Bellinger. They were involved in his free agent bidding in each of the last two winters. In both cases, they watched him sign with Chicago instead. This time around, he’s headed to a divisional competitor. The Yankees sent depth starter Cody Poteet to the Cubs in a one-for-one swap. Toronto could certainly have made a more compelling offer in terms of prospect talent, but it seems they didn’t want to match the Yankees financially.

New York agreed to assume $47.5MM of the $52.5MM remaining on Bellinger’s contract. There haven’t been any details about how much Toronto would’ve been willing to commit. The Cubs’ biggest goal was shedding as much of the deal as possible. Bellinger looked like the odd man out in Chicago even before they acquired Kyle Tucker. That blockbuster trade made a Bellinger move inevitable.

The Jays have taken on big money in one trade this offseason. They absorbed the remaining five years and $96.5MM on the Andrés Giménez contract in their Winter Meetings deal with the Guardians. While Toronto has been tied to almost every free agent of note, their only MLB signing thus far is a two-year deal to reunite with middle reliever Yimi García.

Outfield remains a clear weakness. George Springer is coming off a .220/.303/.371 showing in his age-34 season. Daulton Varsho is expected to begin the season on the injured list after undergoing a rotator cuff repair in his right shoulder. He’ll be the everyday center fielder upon his return. Varsho is one of the game’s best defenders, but he’s been a roughly league average hitter when healthy. Any lingering effects from the shoulder issue could push him toward the bottom third of the lineup. Their in-house options to play left field (e.g. Joey Loperfido, Davis Schneider, Steward Berroa, Jonatan Clase) have limited MLB experience.

The Jays need at least one everyday outfielder. There’s an argument that they need to acquire regulars in both corners to push Springer into a limited role. Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández are the biggest remaining bats in the free agent outfield class. Both players declined qualifying offers. Jurickson Profar, who did not receive the QO, is coming off a fantastic season. Max Kepler, Jesse Winker and Austin Hays are among potential rebound candidates.

Yankees Notes: Williams, Loaisiga, Bellinger, Trevino

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It’s been a frenetic week-plus for the Yankees, who over the past ten days have watched Juan Soto sign with the Mets and quickly pivoted to bring lefty Max Fried, closer Devin Williams and first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger into the fold. There’s still more on the Yankees’ short-term to-do list, but Williams also offered a glimpse at a potential conversation that could be had in the coming months. Asked by the YES Network’s Jack Curry about the possibility of signing a long-term contract in the Bronx, Williams replied that it’s “definitely an option.” As it stands, he’s heading into his final season of club control before free agency.

Williams has been one of the game’s most dominant relievers since making his debut. The 2020 National League Rookie of the Year ranks in the top-three of all big league pitchers (min. 200 innings) in both ERA (1.83, second) and strikeout rate (39.4%, third) since coming into the league.

Detractors might point to Williams surrendering what was effectively a season-ending home run to Pete Alonso against the Mets in the NLDS, but it’s rare for the righty to falter in that manner. Since 2020, his first full big league season, no pitcher in baseball has a higher win probability added than Williams. He’s been placed into 138 save/hold situations in his career and only blown the opportunity 10 times. Broadly speaking, Williams has done his best work in high-leverage spots, that lasting memory from the ’24 postseason notwithstanding.

A pitcher with Williams’ stuff and track record should have the opportunity to command one of the largest deals ever for a reliever next winter — provided he maintains that standard in his first season with the Yankees. Williams will pitch nearly all of this season at 30 years of age, turning 31 in September. Age and perhaps some health questions — he missed three months in 2024 with multiple stress fractures in his back — might keep him from quite reaching the same heights that Edwin Diaz (five years, $102MM) and his former teammate Hader (five years, $95MM) reached in free agency. Diaz was 29 in the first year of his contract. Hader was 30.

Still, Williams could reasonably expect to command at least four years, if not five, and he’d be able to push into the rarefied air of $16-20MM average annual values for relievers that have only been attainable for the game’s truly elite stoppers over the past few years. Diaz, Hader, Wade Davis, Liam Hendriks, Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman are the only relievers to command multi-year deals with AAVs of $16MM or more.

Whether the two sides will actually get into serious negotiations is an open question, but Williams’ ostensible openness is of some note. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.7MM in his final arbitration this coming season, and one would presume he and his reps at Klutch Sports are eyeing an annual salary of $18MM or more for his free agent seasons. It’d be a costly endeavor, but the Yankees have been willing to make huge commitments to the bullpen in the past (e.g. Chapman, Zack Britton).

Elsewhere in the Yankee bullpen is another potentially dominant arm: righty Jonathan Loaisiga. The Yanks more quietly re-signed the Nicaraguan-born righty this month. He’s currently eight months removed from an internal brace procedure to repair a UCL tear in his right elbow. Pitching coach Matt Blake told reporters today, including Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, that the aim is for Loaisiga to be back in the Yankees’ big league bullpen by late April or early May.

The 30-year-old Loaisiga has only reached 50 innings in one big league season but has been excellent when healthy enough to take the ball. Dating back to 2020, the oft-injured righty sports a 2.98 ERA with a below-average 20.3% strikeout rate but a strong 6.5% walk rate and an elite 58% ground-ball rate. Since largely shelving his four-seamer in favor of a sinker, Loaisiga has averaged a blazing 98.1 mph on that sinker, also employing a changeup to help keep lefties off balance. It seems the current expectation is for Loaisiga to open the season on the injured list, but it may not be a particularly lengthy stay, based on the current trajectory of his rehab.

Of course, the headline-grabbing news of the week in the Bronx — beyond finalizing their eight-year deal with Fried and introducing him at a press conference today — was the Yankees’ completion of a trade to bring Bellinger to the Bronx. Rumors of talks between the Yankees and Cubs were plentiful, particularly once Soto signed with the Mets. The two teams finally lined up on a deal yesterday afternoon.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted not long after the trade that the Yankees had informed Bellinger he’ll be utilized in center field. General manager Brian Cashman pushed back on that today following the Fried presser (link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com), stating that there’s no firm decision on Bellinger’s defensive home. He could play any of center field, left field or first base for the Yankees next season, and that decision will be contingent on what the Yankees are able to accomplish throughout the remainder of the offseason. FOX Sports’ Deesha Thosar adds that manager Aaron Boone spoke to Bellinger last night, and Bellinger informed his new skipper he’s open to playing wherever needed.

That flexibility, plus the flexibility provided by Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s ability to play multiple spots, leaves Cashman a vast array of possibilities for the remainder of the offseason. The Yankees are reportedly intrigued by several free agent first basemen but could look to the outfield market and also have other areas of depth from which they could trade. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com suggests that catcher Jose Trevino, for instance, could find himself on the trade block in the weeks ahead.

There’s been some speculation that the Yankees could deal from their catching depth this winter, and they’ve already moved one of the five catchers they had on their 40-man roster, sending Carlos Narvaez to the Red Sox for a minor league pitcher and some international bonus pool space. With Austin Wells emerging as the starter behind the plate and backstops J.C. Escarra and Jesus Rodriguez joining Trevino on the 40-man roster, there’s still a good bit of depth. (That doesn’t even include catcher/first baseman Ben Rice, or catching prospect Rafael Flores, who’s not on the 40-man but just had a big season in Double-A.)

To be clear, there’s no indication that Trevino is expressly being shopped. But catching depth is always at a premium around the league, and this offseason’s market is particularly thin. The Yankees are a surefire luxury payor, and while Trevino’s projected $3.4MM salary (again, via Swartz) isn’t excessive, moving him could cut the Yankees’ spending by around $7MM after accounting for the CBT.

The 32-year-old Trevino hit just .215/.288/.354 in 234 plate appearances last year but graded out as a plus-plus defender. The 2022 Platinum Glove winner is a free agent after the season, and with a wealth of young catching options in Wells, Escarra, Rodriguez and Flores, it’d be understandable if the Yanks leveraged that depth by moving Trevino for some bullpen help or depth in another area of need.

Yankees Acquire Cody Bellinger

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The long-awaited Cody Bellinger trade has arrived. The Yankees and Cubs announced a trade sending Bellinger and cash considerations to the Bronx in exchange for right-hander Cody Poteet. Chicago is reportedly paying down $5MM of the $52.5MM remaining on Bellinger’s contract. They’ll pay $2.5MM of next season’s $27.5MM salary and send another $2.5MM in 2026 — either covering a portion of his $25MM salary for that season or paying half of the $5MM buyout if he opts out of his contract next winter. New York reportedly plans to use Bellinger as a center fielder.

Bellinger heading to the Bronx is a logical fit and it has been in plenty of rumors recently. At the start of the offseason, the Yankees lost Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo to free agency, opening up two holes in their outfield and one at first base. Since Bellinger has played both the outfield and at first, the 29-year-old was seen as a possible fit for their 2025 plans in various ways. The Yanks pursued Soto for a long time but he eventually landed with the Mets, pushing the Yankees to several backup plans. They have since signed left-hander Max Fried and acquired right-hander Devin Williams to upgrade their rotation and bullpen.

For the Cubs, Bellinger has seemed expendable for a few reasons. On the one hand, Pete Crow-Armstrong emerged as a viable glove-first center fielder in 2024, which was Bellinger’s primary spot the year before. Michael Busch also took over the first base spot. With Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki in the outfield corners, Bellinger was a bit squeezed. The Cubs only compounded the problem when they acquired Kyle Tucker from the Astros.

However, beyond the roster crunch, the Cubs were also likely motivated to move Bellinger due to his decline in performance. After some rough years with the Dodgers while recovering from shoulder surgery, the Cubs took a bounceback flier on Bellinger in 2023. After being non-tendered by the Dodgers, the Cubs gave Bellinger a $17.5MM guarantee on a one-year pact, hoping he could get over his injury woes and return to being the player that won Most Valuable Player in 2019.

He didn’t get all the way back to that level but was still great value for that investment. He stole 20 bases and hit 26 home runs. He only struck out 15.6% of the time. The reviews of his center field defense were mixed but were mostly close to league average. He also moved to first base on occasion. He slashed .307/.356/.525 for a 136 wRC+ and produced 4.4 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

Perhaps the Cubs would have been happy to walk away at that point. They gave Bellinger a qualifying offer and didn’t seem to have a very high motivation to re-sign him, but nor did any other clubs, as Bellinger remained unsigned through late February. Eventually, he and the Cubs agreed to a three-year, $80MM deal with opt-outs after each season.

On that kind of deal, the best case scenario for the club is that the player performs well and then opts out. If the player doesn’t opt out, it means he doesn’t like his prospects in free agency, which likely means he got hurt or underperformed.

Bellinger’s production did indeed slip relative to 2023, though it wasn’t disastrous. He stole nine bases and hit 19 home runs. His strikeout rate held steady at 15.6%. He slashed .266/.325/.426 for a wRC+ of 109. His center field defense was still graded as around league average but he spent less time there due to the aforementioned emergence of Crow-Armstrong. He produced 2.2 fWAR, half of the year before.

Going into the offseason, it was a borderline call as to whether Bellinger would opt out or not. He could have taken the $2.5MM buyout and taken his chances, leaving a $52.5MM guarantee on the table. While he may have been able to beat the $50MM difference this winter, he decided to stay, perhaps due to the way the current contract is allocated. He will make $27.5MM in 2025 with a $5MM buyout on his $25MM for 2026. There’s a best-case scenario for him personally where he plays better in 2025 and then takes the second opt-out, returning to the open market with greater earning power, pocketing $32.5MM in the process. He decided that was more attractive than opting out this year.

It seems fair to conclude that the Cubs would have rather he opted out. Trade rumors surrounding Bellinger have been flying all offseason and now the Cubs have moved on from him, mostly for salary relief. By taking on the majority of that salary, the Yankees haven’t had to give up much, though there is financial risk and the deal has more downside than upside.

If Bellinger plays especially well in 2025, he will trigger that opt-out. That will leave the Yankees having paid him $27.5MM for one year, which is the best-case scenario for them at this point. Though if he doesn’t play well or finishes the upcoming season with a notable injury, he will stay on their books for 2026, with the Yanks on the hook for $22.5MM of his $25MM salary.

The Yankees are also repeat luxury tax payors, which will add to what they are paying Bellinger. If they end up above the highest threshold as they did in 2024, then they are slated for a 110% tax on spending over the top line, so any new additions to the roster effectively cost double. That compounds the risk they are taking with Bellinger but the same would be true if they had instead opted to sign a free agent or acquire another player making a notable salary.

Bellinger has been a very streaky player in his career, so it’s anyone’s guess which of those outcomes is more likely in the upcoming year. As mentioned, he’s shown MVP upside but followed that up with a stretch so bad that he was non-tendered. He roared back in 2023 but dipped a bit in 2024.

All that being said, it’s understandable why the Yankees would be interested in taking this risk. The free agent market features outfielders like Teoscar Hernández and Anthony Santander, but they will likely end up with larger guarantees than Bellinger. Santander is reportedly looking for a five-year deal and Hernández three, each likely hoping for an average annual value of $20MM or more.

They are also both bat-first guys with poor defense, whereas Bellinger is capable of being a strong defender in an outfield corner or perhaps passable in center. The Yanks played Aaron Judge in center a lot in 2024 while using Verdugo and Soto in the corners, though it seems that Judge is now slated to return to right field. That’s a sensible pivot since Judge’s marks were poor this year and he’s about to turn 33, meaning the long-term toll on his body would have to be considered. The Yankees may have continued to have Judge up the middle if they had re-signed Soto but after he signed with the Mets, it was reported the the club was planning to move Judge back to right and have Jasson Domínguez get a crack at the center field job.

Now that they have landed Bellinger, it seems he is Plan A for center. As mentioned, the advanced metrics have been a bit split on his viability there. In over 4,000 innings, he has been credited with 10 Defensive Runs Saved. However, most of that positive value came earlier in his career with the Dodgers. He’s been average or below for four straight years now. Outs Above Average, however, is far more bullish. That metric has given Bellinger a grade of +19 in his career, having him at par or better in every season of his career.

Perhaps there’s a scenario where Domínguez seems like the better option and pushes Bellinger to a corner, but there’s no guarantee he will be a capable big leaguer in 2025 at all. He tore through the minors and then debuted with a splash in 2023, but he then required Tommy John surgery late that year, which put him on the shelf for a decent chunk of 2024. He then missed more time this year due to an oblique strain and has only appeared in 26 big league games at this point. He will likely still get a shot at taking the left field job next to Bellinger and Judge but isn’t guaranteed anything, with guys like Everson Pereira and Spencer Jones around to give him some competition.

The Yanks didn’t have many other options if they wanted to find a solution for center field. The free agent market is arguably led by glove-first Harrison Bader, who they weren’t likely to sign anyway after a bad experience trading for him in 2022. The trade market has other options such as Luis Robert Jr., though all reports have indicated the White Sox are setting a high asking price even though Robert is coming off yet another injury-marred season.

It’s also possible that they change their plans, depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out. They reportedly have interest in various first base options, such as trade candidates Josh Naylor or Nathaniel Lowe, as well as free agents Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Carlos Santana and Paul Goldschmidt. But if they can’t complete a deal they like there, they could always pivot back to Hernández and/or Santander or some other outfielder, sending Bellinger to first base in that scenario.

For the Cubs, they are likely happy to get the majority of Bellinger’s salary off their books but also take a flier on Poteet. The 30-year-old has 83 innings of major league experience at this point between the Marlins and Yankees, missing the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned to the mound in 2024 but also missed about three months due to a right triceps strain.

He tossed 24 1/3 innings in the majors this year over four starts and one relief appearance. He allowed 2.22 earned runs per nine with a 16.7% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 42.3% ground ball rate. He also made ten Triple-A starts with a 3.92 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 40.7% ground ball rate.

The Cubs already have a solid rotation mix consisting of Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd and Javier Assad. They’ve been connected to Jesús Luzardo in recent rumors and also have Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown and Cade Horton in the mix. Poteet still has options and can slot in as Triple-A depth for the Cubs.

Financially, RosterResource now has the Cubs with a competitive balance tax calculation of $192MM, almost $50MM shy of the $241MM base threshold. They went a bit over the line in 2024 but it’s unclear if they are willing to do so again in 2025. It’s also unclear if they have any other big moves planned now that they have added Tucker and Boyd. The bullpen could certainly use some upgrades but the club has generally shied away from big splashes there.

RR puts the Yankees at a $270MM payroll and a luxury tax calculation of $292MM. They had a payroll around $300MM last year and therefore still have a bit of wiggle room for other moves if they are willing to get to a similar level next year. The top tier of the tax starts at $301MM next year, so they are not far from getting up to that 110% tax rate, but are already at a 95% rate at their current level.

They are still on the lookout for help at the infield corners, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. likely slated to be moved from third to second base, though adding a second baseman and keeping Chisholm at third is also a possibility. Perhaps a trade of Marcus Stroman could help in multiple ways, as he is making a notable salary and arguably surplus to requirements in the rotation.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Bellinger and cash were going to the Yankees for Poteet. Jack Curry of YES Network first had the $5MM total. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported that it was split into $2.5MM per year while Passan added that the second half would be coming regardless of the opt-out decision. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Bellinger has been told he’ll be playing center field for the Yanks.

Latest On Yankees’ First Base Search

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The Yankees have been linked to such free-agent first baseman as Christian Walker and Pete Alonso this winter, and talks seemingly remain ongoing in some form with the Cubs about Cody Bellinger’s availability.  Recent reports suggest that the Yankees and Cubs are upwards of $10MM apart in deciding how much of Bellinger’s salary will be covered by Chicago, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes today that not much has changed in the stalemate between the two clubs.  As Heyman puts it, “it’s a matter of ’who blinks first,’ if ever.”

If none of these targets end up being a fit, the Yankees are “also considering” several other backup plans.  According to Heyman, these options include signing free agent Carlos Santana, or exploring a trade for the Guardians’ Josh Naylor or the Rangers’ Nathaniel Lowe.  Given how Yankees GM Brian Cashman usually casts a wide berth in checking in on numerous players every offseason, it’s probably safe to guess that more than just these aforementioned first basemen have drawn some level of interest from New York.

Signing Santana would be the most straight-forward and cost-effective move of the bunch, as Santana will almost surely require just a one-year guarantee because he is entering his age-39 season.  Despite his age, Santana rebounded from a few middling seasons to post a .238/.328/.420 slash line and 23 home runs for the Twins over 594 plate appearances in 2024, while also winning the AL Gold Glove at first base.  The combination of offense and defense translated to 3.0 fWAR for Santana, the third-highest of his 15 Major League seasons.

This production will merit Santana a raise on the $5.25MM he received in his one-year deal with Minnesota last winter, but concerns over his age and possible regression will probably limit his salary.  Signing Santana would also be a relatively low-upside play, whereas trading for Naylor or Lowe represents a higher ceiling for production.

Trading for Lowe would also mean more than just a one-year commitment, as the first baseman is arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season.  Projected for a $10.7MM salary this year, Lowe is coming off another solid season that saw him hit .265/.361/.401 with 16 homers over 565 PA, and Lowe also delivered quality defense as a Gold Glove finalist behind Santana.

There was a little buzz about Lowe’s possible availability heading into the trade deadline last summer, but nothing in the way of concrete reports that Texas was seriously considering moving the 29-year-old.  In re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and trading for Jake Burger, the Rangers are certainly aiming to return to contention in 2025, but moving Lowe to address another need on the active roster is a plausible tactic.  Since the Rangers are known to be looking for left-handed hitting, however, however, dealing such a lefty swinger in Lowe would only serve to tilt the lineup further to the right.

Trading Naylor would also be an imperfect move for a Guardians team that needs offensive help, but Cleveland has typically looked maximize its return on notable players by trading them before they reach free agency.  Naylor is therefore a more clear-cut trade candidate than Lowe, and Naylor’s projected $12MM arbitration salary won’t break the bank.  While Lowe or the switch-hitting Santana would also be good fits hitting at Yankee Stadium, the short porch in right field seems taylor-made for Naylor’s left-handed power bat, and it is easy to imagine Naylor topping his career-best total of 31 homers (set in 2024) over a full season in the Bronx.

Kyle Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel are the likeliest candidates to step in at first base for the Guardians if Naylor is traded, though that is putting extra pressure on a pair of inexperienced players, plus the Guards would also need some extra first base/DH depth in that scenario.  Cleveland is also in need of outfield help, though the Yankees might not be a fit in that sense since they’re looking for outfielders themselves in the wake of Juan Soto’s departure.

Cubs Notes: Hoerner, Third Base, Bellinger, Steele

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The Cubs made a massive splash on the trade market yesterday when they landed star outfielder Kyle Tucker is a blockbuster deal with the Astros. The club surrendered a hefty package of All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes, 2024 first-rounder Cam Smith, and right-handed youngster Hayden Wesneski in order to make the deal, however, and the loss of Paredes in particular may have changed some of the club’s offseason plans.

Second baseman Nico Hoerner has reportedly been available in trade talks this winter, with the Mariners in particular being said to have interest in the infielder. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, however, it’s possible that the club’s thinking involving Hoerner has changed in the aftermath of yesterday’s deal with the Astros. Rosenthal notes that the Cubs were motivated to trade from their infield mix in order to open up playing time for top prospect Matt Shaw, who hit a sensational .298/.395/.534 in a late-season cup of coffee at the Triple-A level and appears ready to make the jump to the major leagues.

Shaw was drafted as a shortstop, but is a bat-first prospect who has spent time at both second and third base in the minors since being selected with the 13th-overall pick in the 2023 draft. While Shaw has typically been considered a more natural fit at second than third due to questions about his arm strength, the youngster logged 580 1/3 innings at the hot corner in the minors this past year and seems to be a natural choice to replace Paredes in Chicago’s infield mix next year. That, according to Rosenthal, leaves the Cubs “likely” to keep Hoerner in the fold headed into next season.

It’s at least possible another addition changes those plans, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier today that the club is in the market for third base help following yesterday’s deal. It’s unclear if such an addition would be a part-time player who could offer insurance in case Shaw proves to not be quite ready for the majors or if the Cubs are pursuing more of a regular option at the hot corner, but it would seem likely at this point that the Cubs may only seriously entertain a Hoerner trade going forward if they’re able to land a regular third baseman, thereby allowing them to replace Hoerner with Shaw at the keystone.

While Hoerner may be staying put in Chicago, the same cannot be said for Cody Bellinger. The 2019 NL MVP has been known to be on the trade block all winter due to the outfield logjam the Cubs experienced late in the 2024 season, when Bellinger was vying with Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Mike Tauchman, and top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong for regular playing time. That logjam already led the Cubs to non-tender Tauchman, and the introduction of Tucker as the surefire everyday starter in right field only further emphasized that Bellinger figures to play in another uniform next year.

The Yankees appear to be perhaps the most aggressive suitor for Bellinger this winter, though reports have previously indicated that the sides remain apart on how much of Bellinger’s contract the Cubs should retain. Peter Botte of the New York Post provided additional details about the situation yesterday, reporting that the sides are “more than $10MM” apart in their negotiations. That’s a hefty gap the sides will need to bridge in order to come together on a deal, as it represents more than a third of Bellinger’s $27.5MM salary for the 2025 season. Freeing up money in order to improve other areas of the roster seems to be one of the primary motivators for the Cubs in trading Bellinger. According to RosterResource, the club’s luxury tax payroll sits at just under $215MM after the Tucker deal, and clearing as much of Bellinger’s $26.67MM average annual value off the books as possible would greatly increase Chicago’s financial flexibility as they look into improving their rotation by dealing for a starter like Mariners righty Luis Castillo or Marlins southpaw Jesus Luzardo.

Speaking of the rotation, Patrick Mooney and Tim Britton of The Athletic recently took a look at the possibility of an extension between the Cubs and left-hander Justin Steele. The pair report that Steele and the Cubs have not engaged in extension talks to this point, though they note that the Cubs frequently use the start of Spring Training as an opportunity to explore extensions with players as they’ve done with Hoerner and Happ in the past before ultimately getting deals done closer to Opening Day.

The 29-year-old lefty is certainly an intriguing extension candidate. Steele is under team control for three more seasons and doesn’t sport high-end velocity or massive strikeout rates. With that said, his results have been undeniably excellent in three seasons since he joined the rotation on a full-time basis. In 427 innings of work across 78 starts over the past three years, Steele has posted a 3.10 ERA (134 ERA+) with a nearly matching 3.14 FIP. He generates grounders at a strong 48.5% clip and has limited walks to just a 5.7% rate over the past two seasons after struggling somewhat with his control in 2022. Among starters with at least 300 innings over the past two years, only Gerrit Cole has allowed a lower ERA than Steele’s 3.07, while his 3.11 FIP ranks third behind Sonny Gray and Logan Webb.

Cubs Close To Deal For Kyle Tucker

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1:20pm: Right-hander Hayden Wesneski is also involved in the talks, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

1:03pm: The Cubs and Astros are “close” to an agreement on a Tucker trade, tweets Heyman. Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 in Houston reports that the two sides have discussed a return that would send Paredes, Smith and a third player to Houston.

12:56pm: Talks between the two sides have “continued to gain momentum,” Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports. Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets that Smith and Paredes are “among the names being discussed,” suggesting others could indeed be in play.

9:10am: The Cubs and Astros have been in talks on a trade that would send star outfielder Kyle Tucker from Houston to Chicago in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes and 2024 first-round pick Cam Smith, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. It’s not yet clear whether other players are involved on either end. There’s no indication a deal is nearing the finish line.

Tucker, 27, only recently emerged as a viable trade candidate. The former No. 5 overall pick broke out as an everyday player in 2020 and has since elevated himself to one of the game’s best young players all around. Over the past four seasons, he’s turned in a .280/.362/.527 slash with 112 homers, 80 steals, an 11.3% walk rate and just a 15.1% strikeout rate. A fracture in his shin cost him much of the 2024 season, but he had his most productive season ever when healthy: .289/.408/.585, 23 homers, 16.5% walk rate in 78 games.

Tucker is a year from reaching free agency as a 28-year-old and is poised to command the type of mega-contract that Astros owner Jim Crane has been unwilling to offer; Houston’s longest contract under Crane has been Yordan Alvarez’s six-year, $115MM deal. Jose Altuve’s $151MM extension is the largest in terms of overall guarantee. Tucker could command double that guarantee in free agency over a significantly longer term than Alvarez’s deal.

For the Cubs, adding Tucker would only further increase the likelihood of trading Cody Bellinger and/or Seiya Suzuki. Tucker would supplant both in right field. Chicago already has young Michael Busch at first base and Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field. Left fielder Ian Happ has a full no-trade clause. There’d be no obvious spot to play either Bellinger or Suzuki other than designated hitter. That’d be a waste of Bellinger’s solid defensive skills, and Suzuki has a preference to play in the field rather than slot in as a primary DH. He also has a full no-trade clause, further complicating matters.

The trio of players’ contracts are worth keeping in mind, too. Tucker is entering his final season of club control and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $15.8MM this coming season. Bellinger is guaranteed a $27.5MM salary next season and has a $25MM player option with a $5MM buyout for the 2026 season. In essence, he’s guaranteed at least $32.5MM for one year and perhaps $52.5MM over the next two seasons, pending that opt-out decision. Suzuki has two years to go on his five-year, $85MM contract and will earn $18MM in each of the next two seasons.

For the Astros, trading Tucker would be a tough pill to swallow. Crane has voiced a willingness to pay the luxury tax if the right situation presents itself but seems to rather clearly prefer to avoid doing so for what would be a second straight season. The ’Stros have been angling to bring longtime third baseman Alex Bregman back into the fold, but he’s been seeking a deal north of $200MM while Houston’s most recent reported offer was for six years and $156MM. That the Astros are looking at not only an immediate big league option at the hot corner (Paredes) but also a recent first-round pick whose primary position is third base (Smith) at least implies some pessimism of completing a reunion with Bregman.

That said, the Astros also have a need at first base. Paredes could capably fill that role, as he’s played all four infield positions throughout his big league career. He’s primarily been a third baseman, but he does have nearly 400 innings at first base under his belt. It’s at least possible that the Astros could use the payroll space created by a potential Tucker trade to re-sign Bregman, play Paredes at first base and then simply be content to add a player with Smith’s overall upside to the upper tiers of their system. Smith isn’t likely to be a big league option until 2026 anyhow, and his bat is his calling card; a move to an outfield corner isn’t out of the question at some point.

Paredes, 26 in February, went from the Rays to the Cubs at the 2024 trade deadline and struggled in his new environs. The versatile slugger hit .250/.342/.488 and belted 31 homers for Tampa Bay in 2023 and looked well on his way to approximating that production in ’24 when he hit .245/.357/.435 with the Rays prior to the trade. With Chicago, however, Paredes slumped to a tepid .223/.305/.307 slash in 212 plate appearances.

Those struggles notwithstanding, Paredes is a .234/.338/.437 hitter (123 wRC+) who’s swatted 70 homers while playing four different positions across the past three seasons. He’s walked in a strong 11.2% of his plate appearances during that span against a 17.3% strikeout rate that’s about five percentage points lower than average. He’s projected to earn $6.9MM in 2025 and is under club control through the 2027 season. He’d be a long-term add for the Astros who can help out at a variety of positions and who would offer a solid bat against righties and plus production against southpaws (.274/.366/.456). On top of that, he ranked third among all qualified MLB hitters in pull percentage this season and posted the second-lowest ground-ball rate in that same set. An extreme-pull righty bat with that kind of penchant for elevating the ball seems almost tailor-made for Houston’s short left field porch.

Smith, meanwhile, was just selected with the No. 14 pick last summer and signed for a bonus a bit north of $5MM. The Florida State product absolutely torched minor league pitching with a .313/.396/.609 slash in 134 plate appearances across two Class-A levels and Double-A. It was one of the best debut performances of any draftee and only served to further elevate his already considerable prospect stock. Baseball America ranks Smith sixth in a deep Cubs farm system that in 2024 boasted six of the game’s top 100 prospects. Smith will likely be included on several top-100 rankings ahead of the 2025 season.

Currently, RosterResource projects the Astros for a $215MM bottom-line payroll with nearly $234MM of luxury tax obligations. That leaves them about $7MM shy of this season’s $241MM tax threshold. Moving Tucker would open up quite a bit of breathing room, as would a trade of reliever Ryan Pressly, whose name has also frequented the rumor circuit this offseason. He’s owed $14MM but can veto any trade scenario as a player with 10-and-5 rights (10 years of MLB service, including the past five with the same team). Astros general manager Dana Brown said early in the offseason that his club might need to be “creative” to address roster needs amid payroll uncertainty, and talk of potential deals involving Tucker, Pressly and lefty Framber Valdez all fit under that umbrella.

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