Chicago Cubs: Almora, Schwarber and Happ; trade two, keep one

Chicago Cubs: Big moves on the horizon this offseason?

They can talk the talk but the Cubs front office needs to walk the walk this offseason. We wonder what the starting rotation will look like in 2019 given its depth. The group includes Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Hamels, Jose Quintana, Darvish, Mike Montgomery, Drew Smyly and Chatwood and opens up questions of packaging someone with either Almora, Schwarber or Happ.

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If the Cubs were to trade a pitcher, it would likely be Montgomery, likely. In 124 innings, the southpaw posted a 3.99 ERA and managed to create ground balls 51.1 percent of the time.

He proved in 2018 that he can be a serviceable starting pitcher at the Major League level for the first time while filling in for the injured Darvish.

He also proved he can come out of the bullpen and pitch in high-leverage situations. Not to mention, he’s under contract for the next three seasons and will only be 29 in 2019.

In a time where teams are looking to bolster their bullpen and ride those arms in October, Montgomery’s value could actually be underrated heading into the offseason.