Chicago Cubs: Trading Jorge Soler would leave massive hole in depth chart

As much as it would be nice for the Chicago Cubs to trade away some of their young and powerful stars for top-notch pitching this offseason, you wouldn’t want them to get too carried away.

Just a little over a week ago, FOX Sports own Ken Rosenthal reported that the Cubs will explore trade interest from other clubs regarding outfielder Jorge Soler and infielder Javier Baez. Since Rosenthal released his piece, there has been plenty of trade scenarios going around involving both players.

But when thinking about the possibility of parting ways with one or both, you can’t help but think of the hole that would need to be filled in right field if Theo Epstein opted to deal Soler over Baez.

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It’s been awhile since the Cubs had themselves a corner outfielder with a powerful bat and strong-arm, going back to the days where Sammy Sosa stormed from the dugout and sprinted his way to his position.

With Dexter Fowler likely to sign elsewhere, worrying about who will lead the charge in center field is another question that will need to be answered aside from their rotation interests.

Outfield prospect Albert Almora is on track to debut in either 2017 or 2018, so a temporary replacement could mean re-signing Austin Jackson if Fowler does leave the Windy City.

If the Cubs were to pull the trigger on a deal that included Soler going to, let’s say New York (Mets) in exchange for a pitcher, then Epstein is going to have to worry about finding someone to fill the gap. And the answer isn’t Chris Denorfia or Chris Coghlan.

Parting ways with Baez should be considered the safer option. Chicago has Arismendy Alcantara with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs to help give this club depth at both shortstop and second base, so they are solid with the 24-year-old utility man.

Meanwhile, you have guys such as shortstop Gleyber Torres and outfielder/second baseman Ian Happ rounding out Chicago’s Top 10 prospect list according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

So, if you were to ask me, keeping Jorge Soler on board for as long as possible is an absolute must. He continues to improve, just needs to remain healthy and he’ll be able to club at least 20+ home runs while driving in 70-80 runs in the process.