The Chicago Cubs are not going to just rest on their laurels and hope they can compete again without adding to the roster. No, they are looking to possibly reconstruct their outfield in attempt to become even more dangerous than they were in 2016.
So how are they going to do it? Well with a name that has come up in trade talks over the past couple years… Yes, Charlie Blackmon.
Before you say, who!? Who is Charlie Blackmon!?
He is a solid young offensive player for the Colorado Rockies who has slashed .299/.354/.480 with 88 stolen bases over the past three seasons. In 2016 Blackmon smashed 29 home runs, drove in 82 runs, and scored 111 times. A 4.4 WAR player in 2016, he ranked higher than every offensive player on the Cubs not named Anthony Rizzo (5.74) and Kris Bryant (7.67).
Oh, and again, before you say it… Blackmon is one of the rare Rockies players that has actually performed better on the road than at home – so there isn’t a huge “Coors effect” in his performance.
How this deal could work, the Cubs would like to add a left handed bat, especially if Dexter Fowler signs elsewhere this offseason. The Rockies on the other hand would like to get a little more right handed in the outfield, as out of the five outfielders on their roster, all five bat left handed. In years past, the Cubs had discussed a possible Jorge Soler for Blackmon deal, which could have given the Rockies and everyday left fielder that hit from the right side. With Soler’s performance and health, it would be difficult for the Cubs to ONLY send Soler in any potential deal for Blackmon.
Which would shift the focus to possibly the elephant in the room – Albert Almora Jr.
I say elephant because Albert was supposed to be the centerfielder of the future. He is the guy that was going to make it ok for the Cubs to eventually part ways with Dexter, and was going to astonish us with his incredible defensive abilities and baseball IQ. Now it seems as if the Cubs are willing to pass on the Almora era, before it even started in Chicago.
Trading someone as valuable as Almora could just be the business end of things. I mean this is a guy that made the playoff and even World Series roster with only 47 MLB games under his belt. A guy that Joe Maddon called on in the 10th inning, pulling the legendary Kyle Schwarber and pinch running Albert. Almora may have proved just how smart of a ballplayer he is when he tagged up from first on a Bryant fly that took Cleveland Indians centerfielder Rajai Davis back to right-center. That play, which allowed for the Cubs to go ahead, might not have stood as the game-winning run, but it definitely should be remembered as one of the biggest plays in Chicago Cubs history.
Almora also makes sense for the Rockies. they are a team that, like the Cubs, have several younger but really good players, surrounding two superstars in Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado. If they are persuaded to make a move, it is rumored to be for MLB ready talent.
The Rockies are also interested in pitching, like all other 29 teams, and there just isn’t a lot the Cubs would be able to offer here, unless they are done with Hector Rondon. With how little Rondon was used in the 2016 playoffs, and the lack of success he showed, he could be a guy that is on his way out of favor with the Cubs. In Hector’s defense, he just didn’t seem right in the playoffs, giving up 7 hits (one of them a home run) in 4 1/3rd innings. The Cubs, and Maddon, might be content turning over closer duties to Carl Edwards Jr in 2017, and have been rumored to have done their homework on multiple closer options in free agency.
There are certainly some questions that will need to be answered, and I’m not convinced that Blackmon is the answer to those questions. He could leadoff, but his respectable OBP is due to a high batting average and not because he walks. He, again, could hit lower in the lineup, but he would add yet another 100+ strikeout bat to the middle of the Cubs lineup. I think the Cubs end up going into the 2017 season with a platoon of Albert Almora Jr, Matt Szczur, and Jason Heyward in centerfield, unless another centerfield option opens up to them that wouldn’t cost MLB talent.
