MLB Rumors: Red Sox-Ohtani package, Cubs trade dilemma, Phillies-Mets trade

MLB Rumors: Cubs face dilemma with Marcus Stroman, Cody Bellinger trades

Though it has been logical for much longer, it’s become more apparent over the past week-plus that the Chicago Cubs are inclined to sell their biggest trade assets at the 2023 deadline in order to bolster the roster and system for the 2024 campaign and beyond. Translation: Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger will likely have new homes after Aug. 1.

Where will that home be? That’s obviously the first dilemma that any trade deadline seller faces, the Cubs or otherwise: Finding the best possible deal possible for what the organization needs. But with Chicago, it’s even more nuanced than that.

It was reported on the Onto Waveland podcast that the Tampa Bay Rays, who have recently found themselves falling out of first place in the AL East amid a myriad of pitching injuries, are “doing homework” on Stroman. At the same time, though, they are reportedly not one of the teams in the mix for Bellinger.

Therein lies the dilemma for the Cubs and one that the front office will have to be diligent in trying to make the right decision regarding. There are sure to be teams such as the Astros, Yankees, and many others who would love to work a deal that would land them both Stroman and Bellinger. However, Chicago will need to, in the simplest terms, figure out if they can get a better return packaging their two star trade assets together or by dealing them separetly.

In all likelihood, a plethora of phone calls and conversations with trade suitors is the only possible way for the Cubs to gauge the potential returns for these trades. But what they figure out and how they act on the intel receive will be a crucial factor in determining if Chicago comes out of the deadline as a winner or loser.