Cubs Trade Solidifying Their Dominance Imminent?
Fresh off the 31st annual Cubs Convention, there are reports of a possible Cubs trade surfacing. Were Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein ducking into the halls of the Sheraton Grand Chicago to broker deals? Is this just internet rumor that has little to no legs?
There was a lot of chatter at the trade deadline during the 2015 season, then a lot more talk during the winter meetings this offseason., then that talk seemed to dissipate. It appeared that the Cubs stopped pursuing a young cost-controlled pitcher after the additions of Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, and John Lackey.
Now there are a series of additional rumors that have surfaced, and these rumors are directly tied to the Tampa Bay Rays’ young starters.
#Rays line up with teams that need pitchers and can offer hitters. #Cubs, #Rockies qualify, among others.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 12, 2016
Then there was this golden nugget from Jim Bowden of ESPN.
— CHICAGO style SPORTS (@rljmb23) January 18, 2016
Here Bowden confirms that the Cubs have been in constant contact with the Rays on the availability of one of their young stub pitchers. In fact, and maybe the most significant bit of news, he continued to say this.
“I talked to Matt Silverman, the GM of the Rays over the weekend, and it was interesting because he went as far as to say, ‘you know what, the next couple years I think we’ll probably match up and make a trade.'”
‘There’s just too much of a match. They’ve got the young power hitters that we’re looking for and we have the young starting pitching that they need.'”
While the thoughts of a Chris Archer joining the Cubs rotation are enough to keep any Cubs fan up at night, the more reasonable option would be for the Cubs to acquire Jake Odorizzi. The biggest issue with this is, the Cubs would certainly need to trade Javier Baez or Jorge Soler to get this done.
With the Cubs doubling-down on Javy Baez, playing him at multiple positions and creating a younger, and possibly better Ben Zobrist with him, it would make it tought to believe that they would look to deal someone they’ve invested so much additional time and coaching into. What makes more sense, and I have written articles all offseason on this, is the Cubs trading Soler, and the acquisition of Heyward all but solidified that fact.
Soler possesses perhaps the most raw power of any of the Cubs young hitters, and in the playoffs showed the patience at the plate that the Cubs coaching staff had wished for. But offense isn’t the issue with Soler, the glove is.
When the Cubs have a question mark in right, then they acquire the best defensive right fielder in the game, you probably need to play him in that position. While Jason has said all the right things about making a move to center field – and I believe Heyward and the Cubs can go into the season with him there – the best option all along is to play Jason in right.
That leaves Jorge expendable.
Another possible player that could be moved is Chris Coghlan. While there hasn’t been much talk about him this offseason, and yes he isn’t the lightening bolt sort of guy that draws reads, he too is someone with a limited role on the team if Baez does step into the outfield. The boys over at Cubs Den addressed Coghlan’s potential lack of a spot, and WSCR AM-670’s Julie DiCaro mentioned he’s being shopped.
Room for Coghlan on defense? @jwyllys https://t.co/42AZelAnOT https://t.co/LVQdHIvNoI
— John Arguello (@CubsDen) January 17, 2016
He’s being shopped. https://t.co/ZouPQ9mr3k
— Julie DiCaro (@JulieDiCaro) January 18, 2016
Perhaps the intention is to bundle the pair up for a potential deal? Coghlan seems like a guy that the Rays would value, he’s versatile, plays all outfield positions, and has played first, second, and third base. Additionally he has some pop in his bat, and it was proven last season, the more he was involved and played the better he was able to hit.
If the Cubs were to include Coghlan with Soler, would it be to expand upon a potential deal? Perhaps to also include one of the Ray bullpen arms which the Cubs had interest in earlier this offseason?
The Cubs may also look to add another pitcher because of the Jake Arrieta effect.
With the Cubs coming in ridiculously low on their submitted their numbers in the arbitration process. Jake Arrieta was slotted to receive somewhere in the $11 million mark and perhaps rekindling trade talks for a young starter makes sense for a team that fears losing their ace and 2015 Cy Young winner.
While its tough to question Theo, and he mentioned at the Cubs Convention that he has never had a player reach a formal trial, one could wonder why their submitted number was so low and does this mean they wouldn’t be willing to break the bank for him as a free agent?
With pitchers and catchers reporting in a month and a day (February 19th) some of, if not all of these questions will be answered very soon.
I would like to see Theo and Co. stand pat, i belive Solar will break out this yr. Then his value will be sky high. Then you may see a Chris Archer or such available in a straight up trade b4 the deadline. Good things come to those who wait.
It’s a thought, would love seeing Archer in white n blue pin stripes.
Soler blows. Completely overrated. Just enough talent to break your heart. If you can get any thing for him, it’s a great trade.