How Will The Cubs Trade Over The Offseason?

 

Astros beat the Braves last night, drawing the series to a Braves' 3-2 lead and leaving them two chances to win the World Series, while the Astros have to win the game on Tuesday to draw a game 7. Braves in six games is my hope, and an even more ironic thing is that a man (Trevor Plouffe) predicted before the 2021 season started that the Braves would beat the Astros in 6 games in the World Series. 

I've discussed a lot of free agents the Cubs should target, and we've talked a lot about the free agent market, but another thing I haven't really discussed is the trade market. Trades are a big part of offseason moves, and the Cubs have had their fair share of them (the Yu Darvish trade being the biggest recently).

Who Are The Cubs Willing To Trade?

Now, we are only looking at scenarios, possible trade pieces the Cubs might use, not actual trades we are predicting.

• Willson Contreras. A lot of rumors about the Cubs trading Contreras, but like I mentioned in Saturday's Cubs News, I definitely believe they will be shopping him, which does not mean trading him.
• Jason Heyward. He provides stellar defense and good clubhouse leadership, which counters his poor offense over the last year. Young teams like the Marlins and Padres would certainly be interested if the Cubs decided to trade him.
• Ian Happ. The Cubs will likely shop Happ as well, although I think he can do more to benefit the Cubs if he stays. But I am simply mentioning option.
• David Bote. The second baseman really underperformed in 2021, and I think a lot of teams might be willing to try their luck with him to see if he can bounce back. The Cubs might also do the same, but a lower-cost second baseman with a possible bounce-back would be a good target for a team.
• Rafael Ortega. I know what you're thinking: why get rid of a good center-fielder who did very well in 2021? First, we don't know if he'll do that well in 2022 (he's 30 already and highly exceded expectations...), and also Happ plays center the best and Brennen Davis will probably make his debut, so trading Ortega wouldn't be out of the question.

These are probably the most likely, unless the Cubs try to shop Hendricks or a young starter like Alzolay, which I doubt, but you never know.

Now if they did trade these players, would they trade them for prospects or for MLB players? The Cubs expressed that they are both rebuilding (meaning building up farm system) and wanting to compete in the near future.

My guess would be that they would trade for both- for example if they traded Bote to Padres (just a random scenario), maybe they'd want a MLB player like Grisham. Or maybe they'd want a couple good prospects, if they had already got those needs filled.

Prospects are a big part of the team (Bryant and Baez come to mind), and it's important to have a good farm system, but if the Cubs want to compete even in 2022, which probably won't happen, they'll need some good MLB players in return.

Who Are The Cubs Willing To Target?

The Cubs need players to fill in spots for 2022, and they can get them all of the free agent market, but sometimes the team likes another player, or doesn't like the selection. 3B, SS, OF and Pitching are the main open spots on the team, and we'll look at one trade target for each.

• Jose Ramirez (3B). I need not to say much about the fact that he is a good player, both hitting and fielding, and would fill an open spot with a solid player who is only mildly expensive. The Guardians are going through a rebuild themselves, and trading Ramirez for one MLB player (maybe Bote?) and one or two prospects would be a good move.
• Didi Gregorious (SS) He will be a free agent in 2023, and the Phillies might want to trade him and target one of the free agents like Story. He is slightly expensive, but his value might go down a little bit after his somewhat down season.
• A J Pollock (OF) He is a quietly valuable player to the Dodgers, but with their need to go a somewhat different route might lead to some players like Pollock being traded, and the Cubs being in need of an outfielder or two might make sense.
• German Marquez (SP) He made the all-star game with the Rockies, and quickly became their best pitcher. If the Cubs don't get their pitchers from the FA market, Marquez might make sense to a team that struggled with pitching. He is a lower-cost option too, so I could see the Cubs targeting him.

These are simply a few targets I came up with, and is in no way a comprehensive list of players the Cubs should get info about and possibly trade for. 

It is very probable that the Cubs get most from the FA market, and possibly one or two from trades, maybe one starter from FA and one from trades. I don't know how the Cubs' front office will go about getting players, and I have hope that the Cubs will be able to get some good starters, since Hawkins has expertise in that area.

If they did target players like that in trades, who would they want to trade in return? For example, if the Cubs wanted Marquez, would they trade higher-level prospects like Amaya for example, or a few lower-ranked prospects and a current player like Hermosillo. I would think they would be inclined to do the latter, seeing how the higher-level prospects like Davis and Marquez will be ready soon to help impact the team.

Players that might be a part of deals like that would be players like Hermosillo, Rivas, Megill, Trayce Thompson, and others, who other teams might want to see if they can help their team in 2022.

Will the Cubs trade at all this offseason? I am inclined to believe they will, especially if pitcher expert Hawkins finds a pitcher he really likes on another team. To what extent, I do not know, but I suspect we'll see some trade headlines this offseason, although probably not before the CBA negotiations are done. 

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