Cardinals: Day 3 of Winter Meetings brings first move and catcher rumors

Chicago Cubs Sign Cody Bellinger and Jameson Taillon

The last interesting piece of news is the Chicago Cubs’ making their first big splash of the off-season, signing former National League Most Valuable Player Cody Bellinger to a 1-year, $17.5 million dollar deal on Tuesday.

While the Cardinals had been linked to Bellinger due to their desire to add a left-handed bat and him working with Cardinals’ bench coach Matt Holliday a few days ago, once his reported asking price of close to $20 million came out, it was clear that St. Louis would not be going after the struggling outfielder. The 27-year old remains a great defender in the outfield and solid baserunner, but has struggled in a major way at the plate since his shoulder injury in 2020.

The risk for Chicago is there, but it is also a one-year deal, so if Bellinger flames out, he’ll be off the books for them after the season. It will be interesting to see if Bellinger is able to have a career resurgence in Chicago, as if so, he’ll help improve the Cubs by a lot next season and earn himself a big contract after the 2023 season.

The other big move that the Cubs made around midnight central time was signing RHP Jameson Taillon to a 4-year, $68 million deal, which brings Chicago another reliable arm for their rotation. Taillon is not a front-line starter by any stretch, posting a 3.91 ERA in 32 games last season, but will be an upgrade over the Cubs current rotation options.

Stay tuned for updates on all things Cardinals’ Winter Meetings. For real time takes and analysis, follow me on Twitter @joshjacoMLB.