Chicago Cubs Rumors: Jacob deGrom would drastically alter this club

Chicago Cubs: Adding deGrom would impact team’s depth

The days where the Cubs could trade a heralded prospect yet to see the light of a Major League ballpark are gone. At least for the time being. Eloy Jimenez? Gone. Dylan Cease? A teammate of Jimenez on the South Side. Gleyber Torres? An All-Star for the New York Yankees.

To pull off such a deal, the Cubs are going to lose major big league chips. We’re talking Albert Almora, Addison Russell, Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber-type guys. Throwing David Bote or Victor Caratini at a team in this instance won’t do much at all.

Can you stomach losing a handful of guys off the roster? And, while adding a top-tier arm certainly improves the starting rotation, what would it do to the positional depth the Cubs have become known for in recent years?

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At that point, the Cubs’ brass makes the call: what’s more valued for a team with World Series aspirations? Do you hope the rotation carries the load deep into October and go with Tommy La Stella, David Bote and Victor Caratini picking up regular at-bats as your depth guys?

Or do you put your faith where you have in the last three years – a young core that’s currently unrivaled in the league? At some point, the rotation has to improve and, when they do, the Cubs may not have as big a need as some suggest.