MLB.com is keeping track of all the latest Cubs-related free agent and trade rumors right here. The 2024 MLB Trade Deadline is July 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

July 25: Another Taillon suitor emerges (report)
Earlier in the week, The Athletic reported that several teams could or had already expressed interest in veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon, with the Red Sox and Yankees reportedly having already checked in and the Orioles and Padres representing two more potential fits. Today, Chandler Rome, Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic ( subscription required) are reporting that according to league sources, the Astros have also expressed interest in the 32-year-old.

Whether Houston, whose farm system was ranked 27th in baseball by MLB Pipeline in March, has the resources to acquire a starting pitcher in high demand — as Taillon appears to be — is another question.

July 24: Cubs believed to be ‘dangling’ Bellinger in trade talks
MLB Network insider Jon Heyman said Wednesday during his live stream on Bleacher Report that he believes the Cubs “are dangling” Cody Bellinger in trade discussions.

Heyman said the Cubs will deal Bellinger if they are able, but indicated that it won’t be easy to get a swap done given his down season and the parameters of his three-year contract, which has him slated to earn at least $25 million per season and gives him the ability to opt out after 2024 and 2025.

“Bellinger, they will move,” Heyman said of the Cubs, “but the big question there is will anybody take that contract, or how much would [the Cubs] have to pay to trade him? … The Cubs are going to have to offset that contract if they are going to trade him anywhere.”

Last season’s National League Comeback Player of the Year has nine home runs and a 108 OPS+ through 97 games this year. In 2023, Bellinger hit 26 homers and logged a 136 OPS+ in 130 games. His barrel rate, hard-hit rate and sweet-spot rate all sit in the 30th percentile or lower. Plus, he has made two trips to the injured list this year. He missed two weeks earlier this season due to a rib fracture and has been sidelined since July 11 with a fractured finger.

Bellinger could return to the Cubs’ lineup by the end of the month, assuming he is still a Cub by that point.

July 24: Why Taillon is a name to watch on trade market
With the Cubs signaling that they plan to focus on the future at this year’s Trade Deadline, Jameson Taillon could become a popular name on the trade market, as The Athletic’s staff ( subscription required) explained on Wednesday.

The Cubs’ roster is not exactly replete with players who have a ton of trade value, whether it’s due to performance, contract status or injury issues, complicating their ability to sell at the Deadline. Chicago also wants to try to contend in 2025, so it is unlikely to move key pieces such as Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga.

Taillon is signed through 2026, so Chicago could choose to keep him around to be part of its rotation a year from now. However, it might make more sense to shop the 32-year-old righty at a time when quality starting pitching is in high demand but short supply.

Taillon is having an excellent season, posting a 2.96 ERA over 17 starts after finishing up with a 3.38 ERA in his final 16 appearances (15 starts) last year. But at his age and with his injury history, he may have more value to the Cubs as a trade chip right now than he will as a rotation piece over the final two years of his contract.

The Athletic names the Orioles and Padres as two potential fits for Taillon. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale also reported recently that the Yankees and Red Sox had engaged in talks with the Cubs about the veteran hurler. Taillon has a limited no-trade clause that gives him the ability to submit a list of teams to which he can block a trade each year, but it’s unknown which teams are on his list.

July 22: Cubs focusing on future at Trade Deadline, per Hoyer
The Cubs entered Monday only 3 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot. However, there are five teams in front of them in that race, they own a 48-53 record and have just an 8.4% chance of making the postseason, per FanGraphs’ playoff odds. Facing such long odds, the Cubs “don’t foresee a scenario in which they become buyers at the July 30 Trade Deadline,” sources told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon (subscription required), and Cubs president Jed Hoyer appeared to confirm as much on Monday.

“If moves help us in ’25 and beyond, I think we’re still exceptionally well positioned,” said Hoyer. “I think that’s what our focus will be, but just helping ’24 won’t be our focus.”

However, that doesn’t mean the Cubs are going to be an active seller, either.

Most of the Cubs’ players are signed to long-term deals or controllable beyond 2024, and rentals such as starter Kyle Hendricks (6.69 ERA) are struggling. Reliever Héctor Neris (2025 club option for $9 million) has pitched better lately, but his 6.4 BB/9 puts a serious dent in his trade value.

Although the Cubs are in “listening mode,” according to The Athletic, any deal for a player with multiple years of club control — such as left-handed starter Justin Steele or second baseman Nico Hoerner — would come with a huge asking price. On Sunday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Chicago has had trade talks with both the Yankees and Red Sox about pitcher Jameson Taillon, who is in the second year of a four-year contract.

Taillon, who has recorded a sparkling 3.10 ERA over 93 innings this season, pitched for the Yankees for two seasons before signing a four-year, $68 million deal with the Cubs after the 2022 campaign.

It would have made sense for the Cubs to shop Cody Bellinger, who can opt out to test free agency this offseason. However, the left-handed slugger is expected to be out past the Deadline after fracturing his finger.

Nightengale wrote that the Cubs were undecided about whether to be buyers or sellers at the Deadline. But buying for this season doesn’t seem to be in the cards, per The Athletic.

“The Cubs aren’t going to stretch to acquire two-month rental players and hope things suddenly get better.”

July 11: Trade candidate Belli to IL with fractured finger
Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list with a non-displaced fracture of his finger on Thursday, potentially removing one of the Cubs’ top trade chips from the equation with a few weeks to go before the July 30 Trade Deadline.

It’s not a given that the Cubs will sell, of course. The team entered Thursday 3 1/2 games out in the National League Wild Card race with a 44-49 record.

Bellinger, though, had been drawing interest from multiple teams prior to his injury. According to a report from Jim Bowden of The Athletic ( subscription required), the Cubs have talked to the Phillies, Braves, Astros and Mariners about Bellinger.

The 28-year-old can test free agency this offseason if he opts out of the final two years on his three-year, $80 million contract.