The Cubs are determined to trade one of first baseman/outfielder or outfielder , reports , with the idea of then redirecting their cost savings to upgrade other parts of the roster. Per Bruce Levine of , the Cubs have some interest in catchers and as well as relievers and . The Cubs have been seen as a logical candidate to move an outfielder due to having a fairly crowded mix on the gra s. seemingly established himself as a viable glove-first center fielder this year, with the potential for huge value if his offense takes a step forward. For the corner spots, the Cubs have Bellinger, Suzuki and . Bellinger can also play some first base but took that position and ran with it this year. There are also some other options lurking just below those established big leaguers. has just 45 major league plate appearances but he has always hit well in Triple-A and is now out of options. and are both on the 40-man roster and consensus top 100 prospects in the league. Alcntara made a brief MLB debut in 2024 while Cai sie spent the whole season in Triple-A and played well, so both are arguably ready for some proper big league playing time. Even with the designated hitter spot open, thats more guys than the Cubs have spots. But untangling the knot comes with complications. The prospects and Crow-Armstrong are cheap and controllable, so the the Cubs probably view them as part of the long-term solution, especially since the Happ/Bellinger/Suzuki trio are all slated for free agency after 2026, with Bellinger able to opt out of his deal after 2025. But Happ and Suzuki have no-trade clauses, making it difficult to move them. Bellinger is also difficult to trade on account of that opt-out. For the Cubs or an acquiring club, the best case scenario is that he plays well in 2025 and leaves, but even that wouldnt be cheap. Hes going to make $27.5MM in 2025 and then gets to choose between a $5MM buyout and $25MM salary in 2026. That means that even a one-and-done from Bellinger in 2025 will cost $32.5MM. Teams may have some willingne s to Ulf Samuelsson Jersey take a chance on Bellinger bouncing back from a middling 2024 campaign, but the downside is that he doesnt quite get back into form and sticks around for 2026. In that scenario, the acquiring team would be on the hook for $52.5MM over two years for a struggling player. At this point, its anyones gue s which version of Bellinger is going to show up next year, given his up-and-down career. He won an MVP award earlier in his career but then suffered through a few miserable seasons, perhaps struggling to get healthy after a notable shoulder surgery. He bounced back with the Cubs in 2023, hitting 26 home runs, slashing .307/.356/.525 and stealing 20 bases. FanGraphs credited him with 4.4 wins above replacement in 130 games. He played the same number of games in 2024 but with his fWAR cut in half to 2.2. His home run tally dropped to 18, he stole nine bases and he played le s time in center field as Crow-Armstrong took over that spot. Lining up with another club on a trade could be difficult, but its still a po sibility. At the start of the offseason, we put Bellinger on , though with a spot near the bottom as a reflection of the complications. It was that the Yankees, Mariners and Astros have checked in about him. With Suzuki, this is the first suggestion that he is available, and he will surely draw interest. In his 381 major league games thus far, he has hit 55 home runs and drawn walks at a 10.2% clip. His .278/.354/.470 batting line translates to a 129 wRC+ and he has seemingly been getting better over time. His home run total has gone from 14 to 20 and then 21 in his three seasons, with his walk rate climbing year-over-year from 9.4% to 10.1% and then 10.8%. As such, his wRC+ has gone from 118 in his rookie season to 128 and then 138. Suzuki isnt considered a strong defender, with the advanced metrics mixed on exactly where to rank him. He has -5 Outs Above Average to this point but Defensive Runs Saved has him at league average overall, and with apparent improvements. He had -4 DRS in his rookie season and then +2 in each of the subsequent campaigns to get back to par overall. Regardle s, the bat should make him appealing and his contract isnt onerous. He is going to make $18MM in each of the next two years, his age-30 and -31 campaigns, for a total guarantee of $36MM. Comparable free agents are likely to earn far more than that on the open market. that could secure a contract of $80MM over four years, with guys like , and projected for the $40-60MM range. As mentioned, Suzuki has a full no-trade clause. That naturally complicates the po sibility of a trade, as the Cubs would be limited in their discu sions to whatever clubs Suzuki would be willing to join and its unknown what his preferences are or might be. The Cubs will presumably have discu sions with Suzuki and various suitors to see what po sibilities exist for them. If a deal can come together, it would open up some playing time for their prospects while freeing up some cash for other pursuits. It doesnt appear the budget is especially tight right now. has the Cubs projected for a $185MM payroll, well below last years Opening Day mark of $214MM, per . Perhaps the Cubs are planning to keep spending a bit tight this offseason, as many predicted them to pursue a notable rotation upgrade such as or . But they recently agreed to a two-year, $29MM deal with , a notable expense but far le s than what Burnes or Fried are expected to earn. The club is known to be looking for help behind the plate and Kelly and Jansen are two of the better names available in free agency. Kelly has generally paired some solid defense with pa sable offense in his career. Though his bat has gone up and down a bit, he has a .224/.307/.373 batting line in his career for a wRC+ of 85. Jansen, on the other hand, had a long stretch as a great hitter but is coming into free agency on a down note. He hit .237/.317/.487 for a wRC+ of 121 from 2021 to 2023 and got out to a roaring start in 2024 as well but then slashed .158/.274/.243 for a wRC+ of 53 after the month of May. MLBTR predicted a two-year, $20MM guarantee for Jansen as part of our Top 50 free agents list, with Kelly in the honorable mention section. Either should easily fit into Chicagos budget with or without an outfield trade. Chafin and Yates both align with the Cubs and their aversion to notable deals for relievers, as shown in . Since Jed Hoyer took over as president of baseball operations, the club has never given a multi-year deal to a free agent reliever. Last years $9MM one-year deal for was the first time Hoyer went beyond $5MM for a bullpen signing. Yates just wrapped up a tremendous season, to sing 61 2/3 innings with a 1.17 earned run average and 35.9% strikeout rate. But since hes turning 38 years old in March and has a notable injury history, he will likely be limited to a one-year deal. MLBTRs $14MM projection would be new territory for Hoyer, though only slightly. Chafin has been a solid bullpen lefty for over a decade, with a 3.42 ERA in 601 appearances. His last two trips to free agency have resulted in one-year deals of $6.3MM and then $4.8MM. Marc Johnstone Jersey