Cubs Rumors: So let’s talk about these Nolan Arenado trade rumors

Chicago Cubs: Contreras and a contract headed to the Rockies?

So here’s the latest. Jeff Passan is reporting the Cubs have at least kicked the tires on Arenado – and here’s how such a deal might go down.

"The Cubs would make sense if they move Bryant. They are not primed for some sort of a rebuild as much as a refresh or reboot — an always-difficult needle to thread, particularly if they hope to dip under the luxury-tax threshold. One source characterized the Cubs as doing due diligence, as they’ve done throughout the winter with myriad trade conversations, but the notion of trading catcher Willson Contreras and a higher-priced, underperforming player in an Arenado deal, then flipping Bryant to revitalize a mediocre farm system, squares in the short and long term."

So for this to work (and let’s assume Contreras is the big piece going the other way in this deal) – you almost have to assume Jason Heyward is the ‘higher-priced, underperforming’ player noted by Passan. The five-time Gold Glover has four years and $86 million left on his deal and, by and large, he hasn’t lived up to the hype.

The Cubs have the pieces to fill the void in right field. In theory, at least, you could make this deal, flip Bryant for prospects (thus, saving another nearly $20 million in payroll) – then go out and bring back Nicholas Castellanos. Here. For. That.

This is one of those scenarios that could work – not just this season, either, but making the Cubs a better team for the foreseeable future and hopefully helping extend the team’s competitive window that stands to slam shut in the next couple years.