After weeks of a possible trade in the works, the Yankees officially acquired Cody Bellinger from the Cubs on December 17. Bellinger goes from Chicago to New York in a one-for-one deal. In return, the Cubs get right-hander Cody Poteet.

The Yankees’ Return

• OF Cody Bellinger (.266/.325/.426, 18 HR and 44 XBH over 130 GP)

The Yankees acquire another former MVP in Cody Bellinger, who spent the last two seasons in Chicago after a chaotic end to his tenure with the Dodgers.

The 29-year-old was once one of the premier power hitters in all of baseball between 2017-20. Then, the hits came. Bellinger suffered a shoulder injury celebrating in the 2020 NLCS, then posted two tough seasons in Los Angeles afterwards. He then reunited with Dustin Kelly, refined his approach to activate his core more, and refound his stroke to belt 26 home runs in 2024.

Bellinger’s 2024 season wasn’t incredible, as he only hit .266 (.751 OPS) with 16 home runs, departures from his 2023 bounceback.

Bellinger is one of the most interesting players in all of baseball, from a hitting perspective. The 29-year-old doesn’t have a “fast swing” per se according to Statcast but does keep the barrel in the strike zone for a long period of time. It leads a lot of contact despite a high chase rate (31.0%).

What also benefits Bellinger is that he will often shorten his swing on two strikes, making it easier for him to catch up to velocity. Bellinger’s mean swing length in 2024 was 7.57” but 7.47” on two-strike counts.

Bellinger has long been an above-average pull hitter in his career. His 43.0% Pull% is almost six percentage points above the league average.

Defensively, Bellinger can play first base and all three outfield positions. The 29-year-old possesses good speed and a strong arm (86th percentile). He can fit basically anywhere in the Yankees’ outfield next season.

It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for Cody Bellinger, who went to high school in Arizona but his father, Clay Bellinger, was a former Yankee. Bellinger will make $27.5MM next season and has another opt-out after 2025. The ex-Cub did not exercise his 2024 opt-out in November.

Per reports, the Cubs are also sending cash along with Bellinger.

The Cubs’ Return

• SP/RP Cody Poteet (2.22 ERA, 16 K over 24.1 IP)

The Cubs are getting Yankees pitcher Cody Poteet, a starter/reliever who spent most of 2024 with Scranton Wilkes-Barre (AAA). With the Railriders, Poteet struck out 49 over 43.2 IP.

Poteet has never been a strikeout pitcher in the Majors, nor does he have plus stuff. The 30-year-old possesses five pitches: a four-seamer, two-seamer, changeup, sweeper, and curveball. He used all at least 10% of the time last season with the Yankees.

The new Cubs righty does have a good changeup, one that pairs well with his sinker and have somewhat of a similar pitch movement profile. His changeup comes in around seven MPH lower than his four-seamer and two-seamer.

Poteet didn’t pitch much at the MLB level, as seen by his numbers. The 30-year-old was a depth starter option for the Yankees.

Analysis

For the Cubs, this is a pure money dump that was highly expected in recent days. Chicago acquired former Astro Kyle Tucker in a blockbuster trade last week, giving the Cubs a big power bat. But at the same time, it meant Bellinger — in a lineup with Seiya Suzuki at DH, and an outfield of Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Tucker — was without a role.

Poteet is a good depth arm for the Cubs. Still, that wasn’t the purpose of the deal.

The Yankees, meanwhile, get an outfielder needed, given the loss of Juan Soto. He’s not Soto but Bellinger does have a lucrative skillset — speed, power, and a pull-leaning tendency — for the Yankees.

Now, there were reports that Bellinger would be the Yankees’ left fielder if he were to be moved to The Bronx, and not center, given Aaron Judge is moving back to right field. It’s an interesting move for the Yankees, as rookie Jasson Dominguez had troubles in left field late last season.

For Dominguez, that would likely mean a move to center field, which isn’t exactly an ideal fit for him despite his tools.

The trade for Bellinger marks another turn for the Yankees this offseason, one that’s already seen New York (AL) acquire Max Fried and Devin Williams.