The Chicago Cubs traded Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees last offseason in what was essentially a salary dump. The Cubs received 30-year-old pitcher Cody Poteet, who was eventually designated for assignment at the end of March and ultimately traded to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations. So yeah, salary dump. On Friday, the Cubs played the Yankees and Bellinger had a revenge game for the ages, crushing three home runs and coming a few feet shy of a four-homer game against his former club.
I'm not necessarily going to say that the Cubs fucked by trading Bellinger away because they had acquired Kyle Tucker, who has been a star in 2025, and Michael Busch is literally a top-five hitter in MLB heading into the All-Star break. Yet, the reason the Cubs dumped Bellinger was to shed salary and it's not like the team added any other major players after trading for Tucker.
Fans are still waiting for that money that was saved on Bellinger to be used and the pressure is on heading toward to the MLB trade deadline. The Cubs have plenty of room below the luxury tax payroll and that's because of the big chunk that was shaved off from Bellinger's salary.
So, as long as the Cubs don't make another splash, Bellinger's numbers are going to sting that much more.
I do have to say, the Cubs set up Bellinger for success perfectly with the trade to the Yankees. The left-handed hitter has been a beast at Yankee Stadium, while his numbers on the road have been below average.
Cody Bellinger 2025 Home/Away Splits
Home: .324/.366/.591, 163 wRC+, 12 HR
Away: .242/.310/.395, 96 wRC+, 4 HR
Bellinger is now up to a 131 wRC+ overall in 2025 with a slash line of .285/.340/.498, in 86 games following his three home run game against the Cubs.
