Chicago Cubs Rumors: Are the Cubs considering a trade for Carlos Gonzalez?

By David Miniel | Dec 9, 2015

Well, it’s been an interesting week for the Chicago Cubs. Not only did they sign John Lackey to a two-year deal, but they reunited skipper Joe Maddon and switch-hitting utility man, Ben Zobrist with a four-year deal worth $56 million, opening the door for Starlin Castros departure.

And the crazy thing is that the Cubs are far from done when it comes to adding to their roster that reached the National League Division Series not too long ago.

In fact, Zobrist sat down alongside his long-time manager and told reporters that he was happy to be with Maddon once again and that he didn’t come to Chicago to win the NLCS — he wants to bring a championship to the Cubs.

So they’ve found a No. 3 starter and a brand new second baseman who just won a World Series as a member of the Kansas City Royals. All they need to do is fill that hole in center field and they’ll be good to go with only two months before they report to training camp in Mesa, Arizona.

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Now according to CBS Chicago’s own Bruce Levine, the Cubs are currently looking at three outfielders which include Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon, and Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. Two of whom are free agents while CarGo would need to be acquired via another blockbuster trade.

Naturally, Gonzalez was moved to right field full-time in 2015 which just so happens to be Jorge Soler‘s domain on the roster. If the Cubs were to acquire the 30-year-old lefty, Maddon could use him across the outfield since he has experience at all three positions.

Something that would definitely come in handy.

Shopping Gonzalez wouldn’t come to a shock to their fans since they traded away All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Jesus Tinoco, and Miguel Castro.

The only downside is that Carlos is owed close to around $40 million over the next two seasons.

After four straight seasons in which he slugged 22 plus home runs and 70 or more RBI, Gonzalez’s offensive numbers dropped during the 2014 campaign following multiple injuries to both his knee and back. Knee surgery caused the Rockies to shut him down for the remainder of the year.

Things quickly turned around as the healthy veteran pulled through with a career-high 40 home runs and second best 97 RBI while hitting .271/.325/.540 in 2015.

So the only question right now, is who would the Cubs ship off to Colorado? There’s always interest in second baseman Javier Baez, who was brought up in trade talks with both the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays.

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