Updating the Cubs' Outfield Logjam After Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker Trades

To recap: since the Winter Meetings, the Cubs have brought in right fielder Kyle Tucker and traded away outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger. Also, Seiya Suzuki (via his agent) has informed the team that he has no interest in being a full-time designated hitter. On top of that, top prospects Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcántara have been floated as potential trade bait for a starting pitcher, including the now-dead rumors surrounding Jesús Luzardo, who ended up in Philadelphia instead.

Let’s start with the position least in flux: left field. Ian Happ, now the longest-tenured Cubs player with Kyle Hendricks in Los Angeles, has won three consecutive Gold Gloves in left field, and he remains a marvelously consistent hitter. Over the last three seasons, he’s been worth 11.1 bWAR, slashing .254/.348/.437 (120 wRC+), with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate. His OPSes have finished within .010 of each other in every season during that window; his wRC+ has topped out at 122 and bottomed out at 119. Happ has his streaky moments, but he’s a known quantity at the plate and in the field. The 30-year-old has two years and $40 million remaining on the extension he signed just after Opening Day in 2023.

In center field, speed demon Pete Crow-Armstrong is locked in as (we hope) the long-term starter. Just 22 years old, Crow-Armstrong established himself as an everyday regular in 2024, accruing 2.3 bWAR despite posting just a .670 OPS and 87 wRC+. Of course, much of his value comes from his speed (27 steals; 99th percentile sprint speed, according to Statcast) and absurdly polished glove (14 Outs Above Average in 2024). Just take a look at his Baseball Savant page and hone in on his defense; it’s a thing of pure beauty.

Of course, he was below-average in every notable hitting metric according to the same source, and he unequivocally has to improve at the plate if he’s going to live up to his prospect billing, but Crow-Armstrong is already one of the most valuable members of the team, thanks to his carrying traits. His floor is very high—he’ll always be worth 2-3 WAR on his defense and baserunning alone—and his ceiling would be the stratosphere if his bat ever comes around.

In right field, the newly-acquired Tucker will be the starter. In Tucker’s tenure in Houston, his batting line was .274/.353/.516 (139 wRC+), and he posted three consecutive 5.0+ bWAR seasons before 2024—when he was worth 4.7 in 78 games played. He’s a former Gold Glove Award recipient, and he’s always been a great baserunner despite having middling speed. We’ve broken down his fit in Chicago every which way here on North Side Baseball, and now it’s up to the Cubs to ensure he’s part of their long-term future.

Of course, there’s still one player remaining in this crowded outfield mix: Suzuki. He hasn’t been a disappointment since signing a five-year, $85-million deal with the Cubs in Mar. 2022, with an OPS that has climbed every year he’s been in the majors and topped out at .848 in 2024. His 138 wRC+ last season was also a career best. Outside of a strikeout rate that climbed to 27.4% this past season, Suzuki has improved nearly every part of his game since first debuting stateside. Case in point: his bWAR in 2024 was a career-high 3.5. It’s true that Suzuki won five Gold Gloves during his time in the NBP—and his Statcast metrics show promising, if inconsistent, data in support of him being an above-average outfielder—but the Cubs have three of the best defensive outfielders at their respective positions now on the roster. The Japanese star deserves to get plenty of run in the outfield corners next year, but the team’s ideal defensive alignment features Suzuki at DH.

Beyond that core four, Caissie and Alcántara are knocking on the door of the majors (Alcántara already made his debut at the end of last season), and should provide valuable depth and injury insurance for next season. Caissie is more of a true corner outfielder, while Alcantara is more versatile and might be Crow-Armstrong’s backup in center field next season now that Bellinger is in New York and Mike Tauchman is with the White Sox. The team could also always make a trade for a utility player—Willi Castro, anyone?—to add center-field depth, though there’s probably enough talent in-house where that’s more of a luxury move. None of this mentions Alexander Canario, either, who has limited experience in center and is also on the 40-man roster.

The Cubs’ roster is taking shape for the 2025 season, and the outfield looks like the strongest part of the team at the moment. More moves will be coming as the team looks to fortify any weak points, but the foursome of Happ, Crow-Armstrong, Tucker, and Suzuki is one of the best position groups in all of baseball.