Cubs President Reveals Clear Reason For Trading Cody Bellinger to Yankees

Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer revealed the rationale behind him parting ways with New York Yankees slugger Cody Bellinger.

Mar 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger (24) strikes out during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

On December 17, it was announced that the New York Yankees acquired two-time MLB All-Star, 2019 NL MVP, and 2020 World Series champion Cody Bellinger in a trade with the Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-handed pitcher Cody Poteet.

There has been a lot of excitement about this trade from the Yankees fanbase, especially because Bellinger's power-hitting prowess as a lefty will play extremely well at Yankee Stadium and help make up for what the Yankees are losing with the loss of Juan Soto.

Some were surprised that the Cubs were so willing to trade Bellinger; especially considering what they received in return for a former MVP who's still just 29 years old.

However, Cubs president Jed Hoyer revealed his rationale behind his team's decision to trade Bellinger to New York in a quote included in a January 18 article by USA Today's MLB insider Bob Nightengale.

“I think Cody is a great player,’’ Hoyer said in the article. "It just felt like we could kind of re-deploy those resources in a more efficient way to help the team in other ways. So that was really the gist of it. Once we acquired Tucker, it felt like that was the right move.’’

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts takes issue with payroll complaints; thinks Chicago is division 'favorite' https://t.co/35avhI6Kod

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 19, 2025

Hoyer is alluding to the Cubs trading for former Houston Astros slugger Kyle Tucker (who the Yankees were also pursuing this offseason) shortly before dealing Bellinger to New York.

Regardless of his reasoning, New York fans are just happy about Bellinger now being on their roster and are keen to see him swatting balls into the right-field bleachers next season.