On Thursday, the Cubs parted ways with pitcher Cody Poteet to make room on the 40-man roster. Cubs fans may remember Poteet as the piece they got in return from the Yankees for Cody Bellinger. But it seems like his time in Chicago may come to an end before it even started.
A Bellinger salary dump
This trade was made shortly after the Cubs acquired outfielder Kyle Tucker, signaling that Bellinger would no longer be a starter in Chicago, with Pete Crow-Armstrong winning the everyday center-fielder job. While Bellinger has versatility at first base, Michael Busch seems to be a rising star for the Cubs. The initial hope from Cubs fans was that they would use this additional money to go out and acquire another big fish in the free agency market.
Bellinger was good for the Cubs in his two seasons in Chicago. After struggling in his last two seasons as a Dodger, Bellinger bounced back in Chicago. Bellinger posted a .286/.340/.475 slashline with a .815 OPS. He also accumulated 7.0 bWAR as a Cub and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in ‘23. He also won the Silver Slugger Award as a utility man.
Before the 2024 season, the Cubs gave Bellinger a 3-year, $80 million contract in the late stages of free agency. This contract is one of the biggest in Cubs history per annual value and it appeared Bellinger would be a staple in the Cubs lineup for years to come.
That was until he was dealt to the defending American League champions in December. This move was largely just a salary dump for the Cubs. They wanted the 2 years and $47 million left on his deal off the books.
Cody Poteet’s brief time in Chicago
Poteet wasn’t exactly a prized prospect when he was dealt to the Cubs in December. The 30-year-old was a fourth-round draft pick by the Marlins in the 2015 MLB draft. Since then, he has only played in 24 big league games.
In those games, he’s been decent, posting a 3.8 ERA and a 5-4 record. Last season was a career year for him pitching in the Bronx. In five games, Poteet went 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.068 WHIP.
Despite some success last season, Poteet has not been good during his very brief time as a Cub. In 3.1 Spring training innings, Poteet has a 10.80 ERA and 2.400 WHIP. Additionally, he has three walks to just one strikeout. Maybe that was enough to rethink if Poteet deserved a spot on the Cubs roster. Or maybe he wasn’t going to make the roster regardless of how his Spring went.
At the time of the trade, most people in the baseball community assumed this was a purely salary-dump move for the Cubs. Considering the release of Cody Poteet before the first domestic game action of the season, it appears that was the correct assumption. It’s a bit ironic that the Cubs traded one of their best players to save some cash when it was just unveiled by Forbes that the Cubs are worth over $4.6 billion.
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