Poll Of The Week: Most Valuable Trade Commodity?

With that trade deadline a little over two weeks away, the phone of Cubs’ general manager Jed Hoyer likely is hosting phone call after phone call. The Cubs are obvious sellers this season as the team looks to turn some of their current pieces into prospects for the long-term future. The pieces the Cubs could trade between now and the trade deadline could be about half their 25 man roster. The likes of Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Carlos Marmol, Geovany Soto, Bryan LaHair, Darwin Barney, Jeff Baker, Alfonso Soriano, David DeJesus, and Reed Johnson are all potential players that could be traded this season by the Cubs. Though, lets be honest, the Cubs are not going to make a trade just for the sake of making a trade. The goal for the front office this season has been to acquire long-term assets. In order for the Cubs to do that, the Cubs have to trade their valuable commodities. While Soriano could be considered as the best power hitter on the trade market, his contract it what takes away from the Cubs’ chances to land a quality long-term asset for Soriano. Dempster, Garza, and LaHair figure to be the Cubs most valuable commodities. But what player of these three has the most trade value?

There is no question that Dempster is the Cubs’ hottest trade commodity. With as many as ten teams interested in Dempster, it seems somewhat likely that Dempster will be traded within the next week. Dempster, who is in the middle of 33 inning scoreless streak, has a record of 5 and 3 on the season to go with an ERA of 1.86. Dempster is 35 years old and will be a free agent at the end of the season. While Dempster does hold a no trade clause via his 10 and 5 rights, it seems certain that the pitcher will approve any trade to a contending team. While Dempster will fetch the Cubs a quality package of prospects, he likely is not the Cubs most valuable trade commodity. Reason being that Dempster is not under contract for 2013, meaning a team is not going to give up the world in order to have Dempster for two months of the season.

Bryan LaHair has been overlooked as a trade candidate. Though, that could be because the Cubs are interested in keeping the left handed power hitters. However, the Cubs have reportedly been bringing LaHair’s name up in a trade discussions. The Cubs could very well look to package LaHair with either Dempster or Garza to a team like the Dodgers in order to improve the quality of prospects they receive. LaHair is hitting .282/.361/.508 this season in his first full season to go along with 14 home runs and 31 RBIs. LaHair is 29 years old, and 2013 will only be his second year of pre-arbitration. While LaHair would add value for the Cubs in package deal with Garza or Dempster, the first baseman/right fielder has significantly less value if he were to be traded as part of a separate.

Matt Garza is a starting pitcher that many teams feel will become an ace within the coming seasons. Garza has a record of 5 and 7 on the season to go with an ERA of 4.02. After a tough string of starts, Garza was impressive in his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday as the starter tossed seven shutout innings. The New York Yankees, along with several other teams were believed to be in attendance. Garza is under control through the 2013 season, and that coupled with the fact that he is an ace in the making is the reason why he is the Cubs most valuable trade commodity. The Cubs likely will trade Dempster before they trade Garza, as the Cubs want to focus on each starting pitcher one at a time.

Now it is your turn. Vote on who you think is the Cubs’ most valuable trade commodity and expand upon your selection in the comment section.