Chicago Cubs: I’m not buying the latest Nicholas Castellanos rumors

Chicago Cubs: Something has to give for this to work

As things currently stand, Chicago will head into 2020 with some combination of Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, Albert Almora and Ian Happ in the outfield. If, somehow, Theo Epstein brought back Castellanos, I’d have to assume that either Schwarber or Heyward is on the move.

You’d never be able to unload all of Heyward’s deal without attaching young talent – something I don’t see this front office doing given all their talk about extending their winning window past 2021.

Schwarber, meanwhile, is coming off a career year where he blasted 38 home runs. It’s not hard to envision a team wanting his bat – or the Cubs looking to keep him long-term. Really, it could go either way. But an alignment of Schwarber, Castellanos and Heyward in the outfield isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring when it comes to their collective glove work.

We haven’t seen any hard evidence Chicago is shopping Schwarber or Heyward. We’ve heard the endless Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras rumors in recent weeks – so that might be another way the team could clear out some payroll.

MLBTR projected a four-year, $58 million deal for Castellanos – but that figure could go higher, especially when you consider what free agents have been getting so far this winter. Honestly, the Cubs have far more pressing needs with what little money they have available.