Chicago Cubs: Addressing the Jason Heyward trade rumors

Would the Cubs be interested?

There is a certain irony to the possibility of Jeff Samardzija being traded to the Cubs, a contender, after he had previously made clear his belief, the Cubs were going nowhere. The Cubs offered Samardzija a lucrative deal in 2014, but the right-hander declined, stating his lack of faith in the team’s rebuilding progress. So he was ultimately traded, which resulted in the Cubs getting Addison Russell.

It’s hard to blame Samardzija. Sure, there may have been an arrogant and bitter tone to his comments, but he wasn’t necessarily wrong to believe the Cubs would fall short of their expectations. When hadn’t they in the last century?

Of course, Samardzija did end up being wrong. To add insult to injury, the Cubs defeated his team, the Giants, en route to the World Series championship Samardzija so fervently doubted would come to the North Side.

How the tide has turned. Samardzija’s team of choice now finds itself in a potential rebuild of its own, having just finished the 2017 season in last place. Samardzija isn’t coming off a particularly impressive year, either. But the Cubs likely wouldn’t view him as anything more than a four or five-spot starter in their rotation.