Unrealistic Cubs-Royals trade proposal should be taken with a grain of salt

As we wait for the Juan Soto sweepstakes to open the floodgates on MLB free agency, Chicago Cubs rumors have mentioned Cody Bellinger as a potential trade target after it was learned that Jed Hoyer was not happy that he opted into his contract for 2025. With that will come speculation of where Bellinger might be traded if that were to happen, but it would need to make sense for the Cubs from a competitive side before coming to fruition.

Bleacher Report brainstormed a proposal shipping Bellinger to Kansas City in exchange for Hunter Renfroe, which, on the surface, helps the Royals but misses the mark regarding what Chicago is looking to accomplish.

The idea of Bellinger being sent out in a salary dump would cause an even larger void in the Cubs' lineup. Their lineup is mainly set for 2025, and they are still in desperate need of a bonafide slugger who can reach that 30-home run, 100-RBI plateau. Renfroe, who has slashed .231/.297/.405 with 35 home runs and 112 RBIs in the past two seasons combined, compared to Bellinger's .286/.340/.475 with 44 homers and 175 RBIs in that same period, is where this should end, but that's not all.

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Jed Hoyer's job may be on the line if the Cubs don't return to the postseason in 2025

Per Bleacher Nation back in October, it became known that Hoyer would not be extended before his final year as Cubs president in 2025. Although that doesn't necessarily mean Hoyer will be aggressive to a fault to get the team back to the postseason next year to save his job, he needs to put his foot on the gas to avoid the potential consequences of again missing the playoffs.

Therefore, it's extremely unlikely that he will trade one of the Cubs' higher-upside left-handed bats in the lineup, let alone Bellinger's elite multi-positional defensive ability, for a righty bat that's gone downhill in previous seasons. Dumping Bellinger's salary for Renfroe keeps the Cubs' hands tied in terms of what else they could do with their lineup and only makes matters worse offensively.

Suppose you're considering a big trade involving Bellinger while attaching prospects to make up for the salary hit a team is taking on. In that case, it makes more sense for it to be for a pitcher, which potentially allows for a stronger rotation or bullpen and opens up a spot to upgrade the offense simultaneously. Attaching prospects to Bellinger for Renfroe misses the mark.