There have been some expected moves over the years, and perhaps this isn’t THE most anticipated move ever, but as far as industries and big names go, this has to be one of the most widely reported. Cody Bellinger is being traded to the New York Yankees.

This according to Jeff Passan:

In a rumor that actually dates back to the 2023 trade deadline, the Cubs and Yankees are finally coming together on a deal that made way too much sense not to happen, especially after the Cubs signed right fielder Kyle Tucker.

More soon.

UPDATE: Trading returns are…disappointing:

So the Cubs had to eat through their salary to sign a 30-year-old who was a reclamation pitcher for the Yankees last year? Woooooof. This is an absolute bargain.

I don’t want to completely ignore the fact that Poteet may have real value. Because he’s still a pre-arb pitcher who has had some big league success as a reliever and as a starter, and he still has minor league options. In short, this is a guy to be happy about. It’s just that Bellinger plus cash seems to have that more value than that.

The Cubs have to really like Poteet as a guy they believe can contribute. We’ll find out a lot more about him soon. Statistics via FanGraphs:

UPDATE 2: This was apparently the compromise:

So now both sides can claim victory – the Cubs only eat $5 million instead of $10 million, the Yankees send a swing pitcher alongside reclamation.

So if that $5 million is used for 2025, the Cubs will save about $22.5 million in salary in 2025 to redeploy, and then they’ll save at least $5 million after that for the buyout save (Bellinger will cash in at Yankee Stadium, so he forgoes it). my best early guess…).

UPDATE 3: Actually the $5 million is spread over both years, so this is a little better for the Cubs: