Should the Chicago Cubs pursue Evan Longoria?

Now that Jon Lester is officially a member of the Chicago Cubs, the focus–at least in the fans eyes–turns to that “big bat” everyone has been talking about. Rumor has it the Rays are receiving calls about Will Meyers, and may possibly make Evan Longoria available. Could he be that bat the Cubs are searching for?

At this point in time, the availability of Longoria is nothing but a rumor and wishful thinking. But logically, the Cubs could be the ideal suitor. In Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer’s time, they have shown they like to work with people, or acquire players they are familiar with. Anthony Rizzo, Lester, you get the idea.

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Enter Joe Maddon. That creates a whirlwind of possible tampering charges, supposed bad blood–and yet when the Rays pass over Dave Martinez for manager, they grant the Cubs permission to speak with him–and now he lands in Chicago. So believing Longoria could fall under that school of thought, now possibly extending from Boston to Tampa, isn’t out of the question.

His accolades with the Rays include AL Rookie of the Year, three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner and  a Silver Slugger Award. His offensive numbers have dipped a bit, as he hit only .253 last season with 22 home runs and 91 runs batted in. But he’s averaged 30 home runs per year in his career, and Wrigley might be worth an extra few to that total.

I recently mentioned that at some point, the team would have to look at dealing some of these prospects. It was meant with some backlash, but this was the type of moment I visualized. You’ve just signed an ace, and arguably the best pitcher available right now (No offense Scherzer). The Cubs are building to win it NOW. You can’t play a game of chance with all of these prospects and hope they hit. It’s a gamble, but Longoria in exchange for prospects may be the right way to go.

I’m not saying a Kris Bryant, or Addison Russell. But Javier Baez, Arismendy Alcantara and Dan Vogelbach could all be possibilities. Neither team needs to make a move, so nor would they force it on either side. But the thought of it has to be in the least bit enticing to the Cubs front office.

And as far as Bryant, he may still end up a corner outfielder. If you have the chance to contend, and can get a caliber player like Longoria, possibly moving Bryant to the outfield as has already been discussed, it simply can’t be ruled out. The rumors will continue to swirl, and we’ll keep you updated here at Cubbies Crib.

Next: The Cubs will eventually need to deal prospects to succeed