Reyes as a Cub .718 OPS wRC+ 98
Bell as a Padre .614 OPS wRC+ 83
The only thing that is attractive about Reyes is he doesn’t require a multi year commitment.
For the season:
Bell 126 wRC+
Reyes 79 wRC+
Obviously, no comparison.
Not really a big fan of Bell, but Cubs 1B performance in 2022 is worse than replacement level at Minus 0.8 fWAR and 84 wRC+ (#26 in majors). Badly needs upgrade. Even league average or a bit better performance would be a big upgrade.
Bell’s tenure as a Padre has been a bust but that’s probably going to bring down his market value to the point of being palatable for a club badly in need of a 1B upgrade, like the Cubs.
Sure, Mervis figures to be a factor but might fit best as a DH (or Bell as a DH), as AZ Phil suggests. In any case, Cubs need more than one power bat from the left side.
There will be other lefty bats out there for 2023 in addition to Bell but the point is that Reyes is a bad fit for Cubs, especially at an arb salary.