The Chicago Cubs didn't come into 2024 looking like potential sellers, but a lot can change when a team unexpectedly finds itself in last place.

And if the cellar does force the Cubs to sell, Cody Bellinger may be among those wearing a different uniform on the other side of the July 30 trade deadline.

This is one of the main takeaways from a recent report by Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. They tabbed the center fielder-slash-first baseman as a player who will "likely become a much-discussed name again near the deadline."

This isn't the same as saying the Cubs, who are in last place in the NL Central at 39-47, are actively shopping the 28-year-old. It bears noting, though, that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has indicated a sell-off may be necessary if things don't improve in July.

"I don't think it's time for that full conversation, but it's just a reality that we have to play better in July," he told reporters last week. "We backed ourselves into a corner."

With this in mind, let's assess Bellinger's trade value and speculate on possible landing spots.

What Is Bellinger's Trade Value?

Hoo boy. This is a tough one.

Bellinger has an impressive array of accolades for a guy who's still only 28, as he's been an MVP, a Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glover, a Silver Slugger and a World Series champion. Yet he's having just an OK year in 2024, wherein his OPS is down 131 points from 2023.

Then there's his contract. It's ostensibly a three-year, $80 million deal, but not really. He has opt-outs after this season and after 2025.

The situation is reminiscent of the Max Scherzer trade sweepstakes from last summer, which resulted in him exercising his 2024 option and the New York Mets picking up $35 million to complete a trade to the Texas Rangers. Except with this one, there's probably a better chance of Bellinger proving to be a rental.

He may only be having an OK year in a vacuum, but he's been the Cubs' best hitter since busting out of an early slump. Between this trajectory, his relative youth and the fact that his agent is Scott Boras, it's a good bet he'll want to reenter the open market this winter.

If we assume this is the case, it's a little easier to envision Bellinger having surplus value on top of what he's owed. To wit, his production in the last two months of 2023 was worth $13 million. If he were to replicate that this summer, he'd be more valuable than $9 million-ish he'll have left to collect on his $27.5 million salary.

Such a gap wouldn't be so great as to be worthy of a top-100 prospect, but it would be enough for the Cubs to command a decent return for Bellinger. Maybe even more than decent, given that it's shaping up to be a seller's market.

All this is to say that I helped myself to some creative license in cooking up trade proposals for Bellinger. And as for his potential suitors among win-now teams, there are five that kinda-sorta make sense and five that definitely make sense.

Note: Prospect rankings are courtesy of B/R's Joel Reuter.

10-6: Dodgers, Guardians, Astros, Atlanta, Giants

10. Los Angeles Dodgers

Record: 53-33, 1st in NL West

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman

The Dodgers are obviously fine at first base, but the .679 OPS they've gotten from their outfielders is low enough to consider a Bellinger reunion for a split second. But given how things ended between the two sides, any longer than that is probably too long.

9. Cleveland Guardians

Record: 53-30, 1st in AL Central

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Tyler Freeman and Josh Naylor

Center field has only produced a .624 OPS for the Guardians, so Bellinger would constitute a major offensive upgrade. Yet even if there wasn't the payroll question, the fact would remain that they need arms much more than they need bats.

8. Houston Astros

Record: 43-42, 2nd in AL West

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Jake Meyers and Jon Singleton

The Astros would hypothetically use Bellinger at first base, where they've gotten a league-low minus-1.6 rWAR. But this is another team that needs arms more than bats, and their own payroll question is notably a luxury tax-related one.

7. Atlanta

Record: 46-37, 2nd in NL East

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Jarred Kelenic and Matt Olson

Michael Harris II should be back in center field sometime this month, but the wait for Ronald Acuña Jr.'s return will last into 2025. Bellinger would be a heck of a replacement in the interim, so it's too bad Atlanta also has luxury-tax limitations.

6. San Francisco Giants

Record: 42-44, 3rd in NL West

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Heliot Ramos and LaMonte Wade Jr.

The Giants were linked to Bellinger in free agency this past winter, and he would certainly have a home in an outfield that lost Jung Hoo Lee to shoulder surgery in May. But given where they are in the standings, the Giants don't quite resemble a buyer.

5. Kansas City Royals

Record: 47-40, 3rd in AL Central

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Kyle Isbel and Vinnie Pasquantino

The Royals apparently don't consider their outfield to be their No. 1 priority, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic has reported that what they really want is bullpen help.

This is fair, but the situation is also ideal for the "Why not both?" meme.

Kansas City's entire outfield has only produced 0.8 rWAR, not to mention a .631 OPS that ranks third from the bottom of MLB. It's a big reason why their offense feels so thin around Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez.

As recently as last summer, the Royals making a pricey move for a guy like Bellinger would have been out of character. But times have changed, and they're in the thick of the AL playoff race in part because of their willingness to raise payroll.

Trade Proposal: Kansas City Royals get CF/1B Cody Bellinger; Chicago Cubs get LHP Frank Mozzicato (Royals No. 3)

Mozzicato was the Royals' No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft, but the guy who chose him is gone now. Plus, the lefty's progression has been slowed by injuries and a bad walk habit. He's issued 6.3 free passes per nine innings as a pro.

The 21-year-old would thus be an upside play for the Cubs, but the Royals aren't an ideal trading partner no matter which way you slice it.

Mozzicato may be the No. 3 prospect in their system, but said system is the second-worst in MLB.

4. Texas Rangers

Record: 39-46, 3rd in AL West

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Leody Taveras and Nathaniel Lowe

The Rangers may not be a mere speculative option for Bellinger.

As noted in the initial report from The Athletic, they're one of two teams that has had a "noticeable scouting presence" around the Cubs. And if do they have their eye on Bellinger, it would make sense.

The World Series champions could get away with playing Taveras for his defense in 2023, but not so much in 2024. With the entire offense's OPS down 106 points from last season, a bat resembles more of a need than a want.

This is where Bellinger would come in, though his arrival would be just one aspect of a greater masterplan for a second-half surge. The Rangers also stand to get Jacob deGrom and other stars back from injuries, just in time for another deep playoff run.

Trade Proposal: Texas Rangers get CF/1B Cody Bellinger; Chicago Cubs get Brock Porter (Rangers No. 3)

The general concept here is similar to that of Mozzicato-for-Bellinger. Porter was among the best pitching prospects in the 2022 draft class, but this season has seen his stock take a hit by way of control issues.

But even if there's more upside here for the Cubs than in the Mozzicato proposal, the Rangers aren't much better of a trading partner than the Royals. Their farm system ranks only one slot ahead of Kansas City's.

3. New York Yankees

Record: 54-33, 2nd in AL East

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Trent Grisham and Ben Rice

Also per The Athletic, the Yankees are the other team that has ramped up its scouting of the Cubs.

The need in center field won't be there for long, as the Bombers only need to stick it out with the light-hitting Grisham until Giancarlo Stanton returns from a hamstring strain. When that happens, it'll be back to center for Aaron Judge.

First base is more of a question mark, though. Anthony Rizzo won't be out forever with a fractured forearm, but the Yankees shouldn't be content to wait for him. All told, his last 116 games have yielded a .577 OPS.

Besides, New York just plain needs another reliable hitter. Even when Stanton was in the lineup alongside Judge and Juan Soto, his 18 home runs only came with a .302 OBP.

Trade Proposal: New York Yankees get CF/1B Cody Bellinger; Chicago Cubs get C Agustin Ramirez (Yankees No. 6)

The Yankees have the No. 5 farm system in MLB, so they're a better trading partner for the Cubs just on that account. And since Ramirez has advanced to Triple-A, this trade would net Chicago a near-term solution for a catching spot that has produced minus-1.0 rWAR.

However, the Yankees are already staring down an estimated $61.5 million luxury-tax penalty. Not a deal-breaker, perhaps, but one is inclined to assume they'll look for more affordable upgrades.

2. Philadelphia Phillies

Record: 56-29, 1st in NL East

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Johan Rojas and Kody Clemens

Even with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto on the injured list, the Phillies lineup still looks pretty stacked.

Center field is and always has been an obvious weakness, though. Rojas only has a .571 OPS personally, while the position has produced a .609 OPS and four home runs.

The Phillies would likely be fine if they left good enough alone in center field, but the point of this season should be to be better than fine. After falling short of World Series glory in 2022 and 2023, there's no reason for them to be anything less than all-in.

Besides, it wouldn't hurt to have Bellinger as a potential weapon for a playoff matchup against the Dodgers. Judging from his 1.185 OPS against them, he didn't much appreciate being non-tendered in 2022.

Trade Proposal: Philadelphia Phillies get CF/1B Cody Bellinger; Chicago Cubs get C Eduardo Tait (Phillies No. 8)

The Phillies are looking at a projected luxury-tax penalty of $10 million. Not nothing, but certainly a lot lighter than what the Yankees are faced with. As the Phillies also have a top-10 farm system, they're a better trading partner for the Cubs on paper.

Though the 17-year-old Tait is further from the big leagues, this proposal arguably has more upside for Chicago than the Ramirez version. Tait projects as a bat-first catcher with a strong arm.

1. Seattle Mariners

Record: 47-40, 1st in AL West

Current Center Fielder and First Baseman: Julio Rodríguez and Ty France

It's a nice spot in the AL West standings the Mariners have there, but the whole world knows they need another bat.

This includes the team's own front office, as Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported on June 30 that "an everyday bat" is among Seattle's priorities for the trade deadline:

To that end, Bellinger wouldn't supplant Rodríguez in center field. But he could just as easily play right field, and France's spot at first base isn't necessarily worth protecting. He only has a .695 OPS and eight homers.

More generally, Bellinger is precisely the kind of hitter the Mariners need. While they're batting an MLB-low .217 with an MLB-high 888 strikeouts, he's batting .270 with a strikeout rate in the 76th percentile.

Trade Proposal: Seattle Mariners get CF/1B Cody Bellinger; Chicago Cubs get OF Jonatan Clase (Mariners No. 9)

Unlike the Yankees and Phillies, the luxury tax is not a concern for the Mariners. They would need to spend another $77.7 million before crossing the threshold for penalties. That won't happen unless they acquire something like a dozen Bellingers.

Otherwise, the super-speedy Clase is one of the better prospects in what's the No. 2 farm system in all of MLB. Even if he wasn't involved, the pieces are clearly there for the Mariners and Cubs to make a deal.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.