Chicago Cubs included in Giancarlo Stanton’s preferred trade destinations

Chicago Cubs: Team’s biggest strength is position player depth

When Kyle Schwarber suffered a season-ending injury early in 2016, the Cubs carried on. How? They boasted one of the deepest rosters in Major League Baseball. That remained so in 2017, despite the team struggling to hit its stride till late in the year.

If the team were to pull the trigger on a Giancarlo Stanton deal, quality talent is headed to South Beach. You can assume the Cubs lose multiple big-league pieces in a trade. Imagine losing a combination of Addison Russell, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora or Ian Happ.

That alone isn’t the type of thought that leaves one feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Here’s where it becomes even more worrisome. In Stanton’s eight years in the league, he appeared in more than 150 games just two times. Two.

If I’m going to lose position player depth, it’s going to be for controllable pitching. The Cubs have power in the lineup in Willson Contreras, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Adding Stanton is a pipe dream – but the team has no need for another outfielder. It’s arguably one of Chicago’s chief strengths.

Stanton mashing at Wrigley is enticing sure. But it just doesn’t make sense.