4 moves Cubs are likely eyeing earning them 'team to watch' hype
The Chicago Cubs were the quietest team in baseball for much of the offseason before finally getting on the board in the last ten days, signing Shota Imanaga and trading for Michael Busch. With those moves, the Cubs improved their rotation and infield respectively, but their roster, on paper, still looks worse than the 83-79 team they had last season.
The Cubs entered this offseason with expectations of being huge spenders. They were huge spenders when they gave Craig Counsell the richest contract for a manager in MLB history, but Imanaga is their big signing. He's a fine addition to the middle of their rotation but is far from a game-changer.
The Cubs having a lot of money to spend and a multitude of areas where they can improve, have them being dubbed as the 'team to watch' by many. That label means a big move or two could be coming. The Cubs are likely looking into pulling off any of these four moves.
4) The Cubs are likely eyeing a Cody Bellinger reunion
Cody Bellinger's market has been expectedly quiet this offseason. He's a player who was obviously going to search for a massive payday after finishing in the top ten in NL MVP balloting this past season, but teams have little reason to believe that level of play is sustainable.
Bellinger had incredible batted-ball luck that helped lead to the season he just had with Chicago. He also was arguably the worst hitter in the game in the two seasons prior, which is how the Cubs got him in the first place. So to sum up, he wants to be paid like the MVP-caliber player he was, but no team is willing to do so with so many question marks when it comes to future performance.
While Bellinger's market is far from robust, the Cubs have always been a likely landing spot. He succeeded with the team in a big way in 2023, and they could definitely use his bat in the middle of their order. It might be a bit more complicated with top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong ready to roll in center field and new acquisition Michael Busch likely to take over at first base, but the Cubs can and should make it work with Bellinger.
They won't meet his demands for now, but as Spring Training approaches, the Cubs are certainly looking into what a Cody Bellinger reunion looks like. With little competition around the league, it's more likely than not that it'll get done.