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We got some newfound clarity about the options box the Cubs are trying to unpack this winter on Tuesday—but all we learned was that they enjoy no real clarity or simplicity at all. Seiya Suzuki's agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, spoke to reporters and revealed that the team has already approached Suzuki with a list of teams, trying to ascertain to which of them he would accept a trade. The impetus for this bizarre exploration process, it turns out, is that Suzuki does not want to be an everyday designated hitter, which is the role in which he finished 2024 and for which he would project most neatly on the 2025 Cubs right now.
To accommodate Suzuki without trading away a big bat, the team would have to put him back in right field and turn Cody Bellinger into a full-time DH, which would hurt the defense and could dampen the team's offensive production, as well. That, we can now see, is why the team has seemed so focused on trading Bellinger all winter, and why the last week has brought reports that they're considering parting with Suzuki instead. They aren't delusional. They know they need to improve their offense, not weaken it by trading away one of their best bats without adding someone in exchange. But the challenge of executing this difficult maneuver—of either trading Bellinger for positive value and acquiring a DH who can outhit him, or dealing Suzuki and finding anyone to deliver value commensurate with his superb bat, all without exceeding a budget that provides flexibility but is far from limitless—seems to have paralyzed them.
They're pursuing huge ideas, like acquiring Houston's Kyle Tucker. They might also have their eyes on other targets, too, like Angels outfielder Taylor Ward (rumored to be part of a deal that didn't get completed Tuesday but might still be in progress) or one of the Rays' increasingly highly-paid veteran infielders, Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz. The problem is, these big ideas and the complicated series of options they need to evaluate are costing them time—and a sudden abundance of moves throughout the rest of the league is making that time costly.
Max Fried signed with the Yankees Tuesday evening, for a price the Cubs were never going to match. Later, though, Nathan Eovaldi agreed to a three-year deal with the Rangers that the Cubs (once mentioned as a possible destination for Eovaldi) might have found much more palatable. The Guardians traded second baseman Andrés Giménez to Toronto, alleviating payroll pressure that would have made it easier to strike a deal with them for first baseman Josh Naylor. The Marlins swapped right-handed slugger Jake Burger to Texas, removing one option the Cubs might have pursued to assure themselves of sufficient power on the infield corners and platoon with Michael Busch.
In most cases, you can't afford to kick yourself over every move made without you. The Cubs, as they so often have under Hoyer, are being excruciatingly patient, trying to work the right move and resisting any sense of panic about their ability to work one at all. Right now, though, understanding the pickle they landed in when Bellinger opted in for 2025 and Suzuki adopted this stance about his position and usage, the team needs to find a decisive strike, and soon. As alternative paths to the improvement they need in all four departments of the roster—starting lineup, bench, starting rotation, and bullpen—are foreclosed by other teams and players making their committal choices, the difficulty of doing enough to avoid another season of maddening averageness climbs. Wednesday will be pivotal for the Cubs. If the action slows down again league-wide, they can afford to take a deep breath and continue surveying options. They need to keep some suboptimal but appealing choices ready, though, because if a certain sequence of things unfolds on the final day of the Winter Meetings, they might soon be fighting their way out of a tough corner.
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