A new but familiar team has joined the list of clubs publicly connected to Cody Bellinger’s market, as the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the Cubs “checked in on” the former NL MVP’s services. Bellinger played for the Cubs during the 2023-24 seasons, and Chicago’s involvement means that Bellinger’s market now consists of all three of his former teams (the Yankees, Cubs, and Dodgers), as well as the Giants, Mets, Angels, Blue Jays, and Phillies also showing interest at various points this offseason.
It isn’t known if the Cubs’ involvement is anything more than due diligence on an available player they’re quite familiar with, but Chicago’s offseason explorations have included such notable position players as Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez, Pete Alonso, and Kazuma Okamoto, in addition to a number of starting pitchers. The Cubs have been very active in the bullpen market but have yet to make a truly big-ticket addition to a roster that reached the playoffs in 2025, but is expected to lose Kyle Tucker in free agency.
Bringing Bellinger back to Wrigleyville would be a fun pivot, as it was just over a year ago that the Cubs dealt the first baseman/outfielder to the Yankees. Initially coming to Chicago on a three-year, $80MM free agent deal that included two opt-out clauses, Bellinger passed on his first opt-out following the 2024 season, leaving the Cubs on the hook for $52.5MM over the remaining two seasons.
The Cubs got most of that money off their future books by sending Bellinger and $5MM to New York in exchange for right-hander Cody Poteet, who was designated for assignment and then traded to the Orioles at the end of March. In short, it was essentially a salary dump move for the Cubs, though they reinvested some of the money saved on Bellinger by acquiring Tucker in a blockbuster trade with the Astros.
In theory, re-acquiring Bellinger is a clean fit since he could slide directly into right field as Tucker’s replacement, with Seiya Suzuki remaining in a primary DH role. It does create a bit of a logjam since top prospects Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, and Kevin Alcantara are all ready to show what they can do with some extended MLB playing time. Since Suzuki and Happ are free agents next winter, however, the Cubs could approach 2026 as something of an all-in push with their veteran core, and then give the kids a chance in 2027 once more roster space opens up.
MLB Trade Rumors projected Bellinger for a five-year, $140MM contract while ranking him eighth on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents. Dansby Swanson’s seven-year, $177MM deal from the 2022-23 offseason remains the biggest free agent investment of Jed Hoyer’s tenure as president of baseball operations, and something of an outlier as Hoyer’s only nine-figure contract of any kind.
The Cubs have been open to significant contracts and extensions for the likes of Suzuki, Happ, Jameson Taillon, and others, but adding Bellinger at his projected price tag would be a reach given Chicago’s recent approach to spending. That said, $140MM doesn’t seem like it should entirely be out of the Cubs’ price range, and the fact that Bellinger is a known quantity would make him a unique case. After all, if the Cubs were willing to commit $80MM in Bellinger in the wake of two injury-plagued down years with the Dodgers, investing something like $140MM when Bellinger is coming off three solid years and is still only 30 years old seems like a reasonable move for the team.
All this speculation, of course, comes against the backdrop of the Yankees’ pursuit, as it has been widely observed that re-signing Bellinger is New York’s chief offseason priority. If Bellinger is just one of multiple names on the Cubs’ radar but the top name on the Yankees’ wishlist, it would seem like the Bronx Bombers would be likelier to outbid the rest of the market for his services.
Heyman reported on Thursday that the Yankees made Bellinger a formal contract offer in late December, and Joel Sherman (also of the New York Post) adds the new detail that the Bombers have since made Bellinger a second offer. This apparently increase in the pace of negotiations could hint that the two sides are getting closer to a deal to bring Bellinger back for an encore in the pinstripes.
As with the Cubs, Bellinger’s return to the Yankees would lead to a bit of a crowded roster situation. With Aaron Judge in right field, Ben Rice at first base, Giancarlo Stanton at DH, and Trent Grisham accepting the qualifying offer to return in center field, that would leave left field as Bellinger’s only logical regular position. This leaves Jasson Dominguez without a spot in the lineup, plus top outfield prospect Spencer Jones is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026.
Sherman speculates that if Bellinger might actually be nearing a deal with New York, it could tie into recent reports of talks between the Yankees and Marlins about Edward Cabrera. The Yankees are far from the only team trying to pry Cabrera away from the Fish, but New York has already made two prominent trades with Peter Bendix (including the Jazz Chisholm deal) during Bendix’s two-plus years in change of the Marlins’ front office. If the Bombers re-signed Bellinger, that could make the Yankees more open to offering Dominguez or Jones as the centerpiece of a Cabrera trade package.