Chicago Cubs: Will Arismendy Alcantara be dealt before the trade deadline?

Like it or not, there are a handful of rising prospects that the Chicago Cubs will end up trading later on down the road. I’m sure if it were possible, Theo Epstein would do everything in his power to keep them on board, but it wouldn’t be fair in the end.

Before the Cubs broke out of their shell in 2015, they were known as the sellers of the National League. It was frustrating to see so many good or promising players leave before the second half of the campaign while the North Siders sat near the bottom of the N.L. Central.

This time around, they will be the ones buying and have the necessary pieces to do so. For instance, both Javier Baez and Jorge Soler received attention from multiple teams over the winter, including the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Rays.

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While first baseman Dan Vogelbach gains the attention of American League teams in search of a designated hitter, utility man Arismendy Alcantara is another young player who should reel in some interest of his own.

Alcantara, 24, was originally signed on as a shortstop back in 2008 but moved over to second base following Javier’s promotion to the Tennessee Smokies during the 2013 campaign.

The young Dominican-born left-handed hitter made his big league debut with the Cubs when second baseman Darwin Barney was forced to leave the team due to the birth of his child.

It wouldn’t be long until Barney was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Still one of the toughest trades to wrap my head around considering how solid Darwin was on defense. So many outrageous plays were made by the Gold Glove infielder.

Next: Six players ranked in MLB Top 100 prospects

Following a great season in which several prospects made their debuts, Alcantara’s play started to decline, resulting in him being optioned back to Triple-A Iowa on Apr. 21, clearing the way for Addison Russell.

We figured he would make his way back to the big league roster later on in the year, but that wasn’t the case. In 11 games with the Cubs in 2015, he managed to only hit .077/.226/.077 with two hits, one RBI, five walks and 11 strikeouts.