One of the most foolish acts of Jed Hoyer’s reign as the Cubs’ Baseball Operations Head
occurred during the 2024-2025 offseason. After acquiring All-Star Kyle Tucker from the Astros,
he decided to trade Cody Bellinger to the Yankees in a salary dump move. Chicago even paid
New York $5 million and all the Cubs received in return was pitcher Cody Poteet, who didn’t
even pitch an inning for them. Now, Tucker is gone and Bellinger had a great season in 2025
and recently signed a long-term extension with New York. The Chicago Cubs should be
regretting trading Cody Bellinger away for essentially nothing.
After winning the 2023 NL Comeback Player of the Year award, Cody Bellinger anticipated he’d
finally get the big money deal he desired. However, it didn’t happen and he became one of the
“Boras Four” players that remained on the market longer than expected. After extensive
negotiations, Bellinger instead returned to the Chicago Cubs on a three-year, $80 million deal
with opt-outs in the first two years. On paper, the Cubs got a bargain for Bellinger, who was
coming off a season that saw him slash .307/.356/.525 with 29 home runs, 98 RBI, and an OPS
of .881. At the time, these were the third-best numbers of his career.
However, like most things in life, Cody Bellinger didn’t live up to the hype. In 2024, Bellinger
slashed .266/.325/.426 with just 18 home runs, 78 RBI, and an OPS of just .751. He also missed
multiple games in April and June of that season due to rib and finger injuries. This was a
significant statistical drop-off compared to the numbers he put up in the previous season.
Despite the down season, Jed Hoyer hoped Bellinger would opt out and become a free agent.
However, instead of testing free agency, the former MVP opted in to his contract for the 2025
season. This also netted him an additional $27.5 million. This left Hoyer seething as he realized
that he and the Cubs had signed the two-time all-star to a bad contract. Chicago immediately
tried to trade him and further signaled he was available by acquiring All-Star Kyle Tucker from
the Astros.
After Juan Soto signed with the Mets, the New York Yankees found themselves in need of an
outfielder and engaged with the Cubs about Cody Bellinger. In a salary dump move on
December 17 th , Chicago dealt Bellinger and $5 million to New York. All Chicago received in
return from New York was depth pitcher Cody Poteet. However, Poteet wouldn’t pitch an
inning for Chicago in 2025 and would be designated for assignment. The Cubs essentially gave
away Bellinger for free and this only got worse as the season went on.
The left-handed slugger had a bounce-back year in 2025. He finished that season slashing
.272/.334/.480 with 27 home runs, 98 RBI, and an OPS of .813. These statistics were the
second-best of Bellinger’s career, just behind his 2019 MVP season. His 98 RBI trailed only
eventual AL MVP Aaron Judge. Bellinger himself even received MVP votes at the end of the
season. For his efforts, the Yankees signed him to a five-year, $162.5 million extension with a
$20 million signing bonus, full no-trade clause. and opt-outs after 2027 and 2028. Given the
numbers he put up in 2025 and the extension he signed this past offseason, this further left Jed
Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs with egg on their faces.
Jed Hoyer has made a lot of regrettable moves during his tenure as the Cubs’ President of
Baseball Operations. Trading Cody Bellinger essentially for free should be one of them. After
the 30-year-old was traded, he put up the second-best number of his career, earned MVP
votes, and New York awarded him an extension to remain in pinstripes. Meanwhile, the Cubs
didn’t even try to see what they had with Cody Poteet. In baseball, trading away 27 home runs,
98 RBI, and $5 million for free can plague a Baseball Operations Head’s legacy forever.
