What the Cubs can learn from the Astros’ Evan Gattis trade

On Thursday, the Houston Astros shocked a large percentage of the baseball world, trading for former Atlanta Braves backstop Evan Gattis – sending a trio of prospects to the Braves in exchange for the slugging catcher.

Although the Houston Astros are no longer in the National League Central, the Chicago Cubs should take note of this trade: this is how you build a contender.

Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow has assembled one of the best farm systems in all of Major League Baseball – due largely in part to a dismal big league team over the past few seasons. Headlined by shortstop prospect Carlos Correa and right-hander Mark Appel, the Astros are poised to make a splash in the years to come.

Taking advantage of some of that depth, Luhnow dealt Rio Ruiz, Mark Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman to Atlanta to acquire Gattis, who has four years of team control remaining. Last season, the slugging backstop clubbed a career-high 22 home runs after breaking onto the scene in 2013 with 21 long-balls. At just 28 years old, the Texas native is heading into his prime – although his role with the team is somewhat unclear.

Houston has three catchers on the 40-man roster – prior to the Gattis acquisition – meaning a trade involving the likes of Carlos Corporan or Jason Castro now appears likely, thus meaning Houston probably is not done making moves ahead of Spring Training next month. But that’s neither here nor there.

Back to the Cubs.

Chicago has the deepest farm system in all of Major League Baseball. The likes of Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber and Billy McKinney are all nearing big league-ready and that’s not to mention Javier Baez, Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo already with the Cubs at the Friendly Confines. Needless to say, the team has plenty of talent – and not enough room for all of it on the diamond at one time.

Houston retained virtually all of its top talent after the Gattis deal: Correa and Appel remain, along with Domingo Santana, Lance McCullers and Colin Moran. They dealt from a plethora of talent – mid-level prospects within the organization – and added an impact bat. The Cubs should consider the same type of move.

Now, offense isn’t what Chicago lacks heading into 2015. If the younger talent on the big league club can step up and be more consistent (a la Baez cutting down his strikeouts) – the team will be a contender in the National League Central. However, after adding Jon Lester and bringing back Jason Hammel this offseason, pitching depth remains a concern moving forward.

The team has just two arms in its top ten prospects – C.J. Edwards and Pierce Johnson – neither of whom are considered to be top-notch impact arm at the major league level. Dealing from the depth of position player talent – perhaps McKinney or Dan Vogelbach (as potential options) – the team could address that need. However, if the team included a next-level piece like Almora or Schwarber, the return could change the make-up of the organization for years to come.

Too many Cubs fans are too busy being in love with the countless prospects working their way up through the system to bother considering trading them. But if there’s anything to be learned from the Astros’ trade for Evan Gattis, it’s that dealing from a position of strength is how to build a contender.

Period.

Next: Is the Cubs' asking price on Castillo too high?