Chicago Cubs first baseman Cody Bellinger. David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs may pull a surprising move with Cody Bellinger

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 7/29/23

The Chicago Cubs could pull a surprising move with Cody Bellinger.

The Cubs were 43-50 as of July 17 and looked to almost certainly be sellers ahead of the MLB trade deadline. That meant some of their desirable players like Bellinger and Marcus Stroman would have been trade targets. Bellinger likely would have been dealt to another team.

But then something funny happened: the Cubs started to win.

The Cubs have gone 9-1 since that point, and entered Saturday on a seven-game winning streak. The recent hot streak apparently has the Cubs rethinking things and considering keeping their top players.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman says the team isn’t convinced about trading Bellinger or Stroman.

The Cubs understandably are said to be rethinking their earlier inclination to sell thanks to a 6-game winning streak that has lifted them to .500 and 4 out for the Wild Card. That could remove two key pieces — Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman — from the trade market.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 29, 2023

FS1’s Ken Rosenthal also said Saturday that he does not believe the Cubs will be sellers.

Ken Rosenthal just said on FS1 he does not see the Cubs selling and that they will move forward with Bellinger and Stroman pic.twitter.com/R0m1QQrEYs

— Locked On Cubs (@LockedOnCubs) July 29, 2023

Bellinger has a been a big reason for the Cubs’ winning streak. He is batting .319 with 15 doubles and 15 home runs this season. The 2019 NL MVP has a .915 OPS and has been particularly hot in July.

This month, Bellinger is batting .427 with a 1.196 OPS. He had clubbed 8 home runs and driven in 24 runs entering play on Saturday.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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