Chicago Cubs: Cubs should at least field offers for Kyle Schwarber

Fans once deemed Kyle Schwarber an ‘untouchable’ piece of the Chicago Cubs’ future. Now, the team must, at the very least, entertain trade proposals.

A little under a year ago the Chicago Cubs were in the market for a shutdown closer. They had two on their immediate radar: the Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller. Chicago reportedly preferred the latter due to additional years of team control.

However, the Yankees put their foot down and said that no talks would advance without Kyle Schwarber being involved. Even though he was recovering from an ACL injury, his value was still extremely high. The Cubs said no and chose to trade top prospect Gleyber Torres for Chapman instead.

For the Cubs to refuse to part with Schwarber while in the middle of chasing their first title since 1908 is a testament to how highly they think of him. This year, however, he’s struggling mightily, and the Cubs may want to revisit trade talks involving the slugger.

Look, I’m not saying the team should just get rid of him for nothing. Even with his struggles he would still fetch a high price from any team. All I’m suggesting is the team shouldn’t deem him as untouchable now.

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I never really deemed Schwarber as ‘untouchable.’ I wouldn’t have traded him straight-up for a reliever, but 99 percent of guys are available if the offer is right. Schwarber honestly isn’t one of the one percent, especially not on this Cubs team.

Pitching wins championships

Let’s get real, the squad needs pitchers. And not just any pitcher, young pitchers. That Sonny Gray over in Oakland is a great one. Giving them Schwarber, who’s an AL player anyway, would make perfect sense.

Or what about talking with Tampa for Chris Archer? The White Sox for Jose Quintana? Of course it would take more than just Schwarber to get those guys, but it’s a great starting point.

Schwarber’s awful play thus far has certainly taken a hit on his trade value, but not much. And let’s not forget this is his first full season in the majors. Oh yeah, and he just turned 24.

Ask any team if they’d want Kyle Schwarber and every one of them will say yes. Knowing this, the Cubs’ front office shouldn’t shoot anything down involving the young power hitter so quickly. This isn’t to say they do, but Theo Epstein’s comments regarding Schwarber’s recent demotion to Triple-A suggest he’s off the market.

“It’s an investment in you,” he said. ” You’re going to be right in the middle of everything good that happens here for a long, long time.”

Of course Epstein didn’t say anything otherwise, but given that he’s always been a big fan of Schwarber it’d definitely be hard to see the executive trade him. But that doesn’t mean he and the rest of the team’s brass shouldn’t explore every possible solution to the team’s glaring pitching conundrum that looms ahead.

Next: Schwarber talks demotion to Triple-A Iowa

Fans shouldn’t give up on Schwarber (yet) but the comparisons to Babe Ruth need to stop. He won’t ever be that good. Therefore the Cubs shouldn’t be afraid to pull the trigger if the price is right, no matter how hard it might be.