Chicago Cubs: 3 potential outside-the-box trade partners for Kris Bryant

Chicago Cubs: Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers did not sell at the trade deadline this year the way that many people expected them to, opting to hold onto players such as Lance Lynn. On the one hand, they may have missed an opportunity to build up a farm system that currently ranks in the bottom third of the majors.

On the other hand, they may have decided not to sell in order to better position themselves to contend in 2021. They tried a similar approach last year, trading for Corey Kluber before the season started among other moves, but that blew up in their face as Kluber only got into one game while they stumbled to a 22-38 finish.

If the Rangers think they can contend next year and want to upgrade over Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third base, they might be able to piece something together for Bryant, particularly since they don’t have what it takes to land a bigger name such as Arenado.

Any potential trade discussion involving Bryant and the Rangers would have to begin and end with third baseman Josh Jung, the Rangers’ number one overall prospect (50th in the majors) as a potential replacement for Bryant. Jung, 22, was the eighth overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft. There’s a chance he could reach the majors by the end of the 2021 season, though early 2022 seems more likely.

The Rangers’ other big position player prospect is Sam Huff, but he’s a catcher, and the Cubs again are set there right now. The Rangers do have a few young pitchers to keep an eye on; one of them is Cole Winn, who at 20 years old is probably a few years away but was a first-round pick in 2018.