Chicago Cubs Rumors: Five players who could be traded this offseason

The forthcoming offseason seems likely to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. Like it or not, that means the Chicago Cubs could trade fan favorites.

After three consecutive trips to the National League Championship Series, we all, by and large, consider a prompt exit in the NL Wild Card game a failure. Chicago Cubs fans now expect more than ‘just’ a postseason berth.

And that same mindset permeates all the way to the top. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein made that perfectly clear in his end-of-season presser with members of the media.

“It’s time to stop evaluating in terms of talent and start doing it in terms of production,” he said.

That statement turned heads in a big way. For years, the team built around their corral of former first-rounders, including Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and Albert Almora. During that same stretch, we heard about how the Cubs needed to let these guys mature and figure out the game at the big league level.

Those days are done. Somehow, we’re likely already on the back end of the championship window. Epstein knows that and, this winter, we’re going to see his front office operate with that in mind. The time to pull the trigger and make big moves is now.

With that said, these five guys stand out as particularly likely to put on a new uniform come next spring.

Chicago Cubs: Is Happ a likely victim of the new mindset?

There’s no one the whole ‘performance over potential’ mindset seems to apply to more than Ian Happ. The switch-hitting utility player and former first-rounder is a tremendously versatile young asset.

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Now, Happ’s performance this season didn’t quite measure up to what he did when he burst onto the scene in 2017. His OPS fell from .842 to .761 (still above the league average of .728) and he hit just .233.

The biggest qualm with Happ? He strikes out – a lot. This season, he whiffed in 36.1 percent of his at-bats, and faded badly down the stretch. After the All-Star Break, Happ hit just .196 with only three home runs over the final two months.

Still, we’re talking about a guy who can handle all three outfield positions and has seen time at first, second and third base, as well. There’s little doubt he holds a great deal of value. Happ is only 24 years old and doesn’t turn 25 till next August.

If the Cubs go out and add an impact outfielder, say Bryce Harper, there’s no room for Happ, Schwarber and Almora – and it might mean that a guy capable of playing multiple positions and hits from both sides of the plate is on the move.

Chicago Cubs: Does the team need a veteran behind Contreras?

Last season, young catcher Victor Caratini got his first real crack at the big leagues. You may point to his 2017 debut as such an instance, but with Rene Rivera, Alex Avila and Willson Contreras all on the roster down the stretch, it’s hard to call Caratini’s role even a ‘second-string’ catcher.

But in 2018, the role pretty much belonged to him all year, aside from a brief and unsuccessful Chris Gimenez experiment. Over the course of the campaign, Caratini hit just .232 with a dismal .293 on-base percentage, down a full 40 points from the year prior.

Behind the dish, he graded out decently well. He came in just above league average (27.9 percent) by throwing out 28 percent of would-be base stealers. The former second-rounder, in short, held his own defensively, eventually emerging as Cole Hamels’ personal catcher, but barely hit his weight.

In recent years, we saw Chicago go with three catchers on the 25-man roster. This year, they largely opted for Contreras and Caratini. But with Contreras catching more than he ever had, the Cubs either need to go back to that three-man catching rotation to keep him fresh or look for a reliable veteran to replace Caratini.

Because let’s be honest. His future is nothing more than a perennial backup behind Willson Contreras. And his value to the Cubs in the near future may very well be higher as a trade chip than as a backup catcher.

Chicago Cubs: Center fielder of the future – but with what team?

Albert Almora, to me personally, represents the highest upside of any player on this list.

Now, that’s a bold statement, I know, given the other names here, including three other first-round draft picks. But this is a guy whose defensive instincts are off-the-charts and who, at times, has shown the ability to do just what you need him to do with the bat.

The Cubs’ 2012 first-round pick played in a career-high 152 games this season, slashing .286/.323/.378. Despite taking roughly 150 more at-bats than in 2017, he drew just five more walks, which continues to be the biggest hole in his game, offensively.

Still, you can’t really complain about a guy who provided stellar defense on a daily basis and hit just under .290 at the end of the day. But people do – because Almora faded down the stretch in a big way.

After hitting .319 pre-All-Star Break, he scraped together a measly .232 mark with a .267 OBP in the second half, as the team’s entire offense went on a hiatus, ultimately costing them a third-straight National League Central title.

Moving Almora wouldn’t be easy and seems likely, really only if the team lands Harper or another outfielder this winter. He’s sure to fetch a strong return – but losing his glove would hurt in a big way.

Chicago Cubs: Is Kyle Schwarber likely to move?

After a dismal 2017 showing that came on the heels of his heroic World Series return, Kyle Schwarber put in a tremendous amount of work. He dropped a ton of weight and came into 2018 in the best shape of his life.

He graded out as a much improved defensive outfielder, relying on his strong arm to cut down opponents’ running game. At the dish, he led the walk with 20 intentional walks, which boosted his career-best .356 on-base percentage. He hit 26 home runs but only drove in 56 runs, still ending with an .823 OPS.

No longer a catcher, folks have been saying Schwarber is better suited as an American League player, simply because of the ability to play him as a designated hitter. We know what he’s capable of power-wise, but, once again, if the team goes out and picks up another outfielder this winter, there simply isn’t space for him to play on a daily basis.

I know it sounds redundant, but if the Cubs get Bryce Harper, I find it pretty unlikely the team trots out three left-handed-hitting outfielders (Harper, Heyward, Schwarber) on a daily basis. The matchups wouldn’t be ideal and I think it’s far more likely we see someone like Almora paired with those two than Schwarber.

All told, this offseason will likely bring more roster turnover and change than at any point during the Cubs’ recent stretch of 90-plus win campaigns. And, while all these guys may not be on the move, they seem to represent the likeliest to be dealt in the coming months.