Who will be the first Chicago Cubs player traded ahead of the deadline?

Look, we all know what’s coming: multiple Chicago Cubs will no longer be Chicago Cubs by the end of the month. The only question at this point is who is going to be dealt and then, of course, when will they be shipped out?

Will it be before the Cubs resume play after the All-Star Break, or will we have to wait another couple weeks to see the market start heating up? Will contending teams who incur injuries early in the second half look to fortify their positions and look to fill or patch holes while they can?

The crazy answer is that there are a couple ways this could play out. Not that the Cubs are going to sit back and do nothing at this point, but the market is volatile and the team’s recent skid has completely remade the landscape of this year’s trade deadline. Heck, the Cubs could hold the four or five best trade pieces at the deadline.

With a lineup’s worth of guys who could be dealt because of money, expiring contracts, or a quick rebuild, Jed Hoyer better get his bat phone in tip-top shape for all of the calls he’s going to be fielding in the next several weeks. He also better make sure he gets more in return than he did for an ace and his battery mate over the winter.

Chicago Cubs: Sluggers or pitchers on the move?

Who is going to go first? I’ll be honest; without any inside knowledge of his recent conversations with rival GMs, I’d venture a guess and say that offers have already been made and a deal for someone could be imminent. Scary thing is, it might not even be for one of the big names – it could be for a guy like Andrew Chafin to bolster someone’s bullpen and jump the market a bit.

Left-handed relievers are tough to come by and Chafin has had an outstanding season. He also would only be owed a little over a million dollars for the rest of the year, so that could be more palatable than some other big name who might be out there and allow contenders to go get him early.

Or maybe first to go could be a guy like Joc Pederson, who could certainly fill a gap caused by say, an injury (Atlanta, I’m looking at you right now). Pederson has pop, a good eye, and can play a competent outfield. Plus, let’s not forget the fact that Pederson had an otherworldly postseason in 2020 (after having a pretty bad regular season), so teams might be willing to overlook mediocre stats so far this season with the hope that he could be a savior come October.

While those two names wouldn’t bring back gigantic hauls for the Cubs, they could be smaller and easier trades for some clubs not willing to give up top tier prospects for rental players or those not willing to take on lots of extra salary.

Chicago Cubs: Who wouldn’t want to add this guy to their back end?

On to the big names, the Saturday night FOX telecast discussed an interesting idea that I’ll go along with concerning Craig Kimbrel. As the most significant and coveted player on this year’s deadline block, Kimbrel could give a club a huge boost in the next couple weeks, thus increasing his value to a contender who would otherwise only get him for two months if they wait until the end of the month.

Getting a guy like that in a stretch where you might need him to save five games could make the difference between a Wild Card and Division crown come the end of September, so it’s plausible (maybe even likely?) Dirty Craig could go early to someone who throws down a huge offer. Also, with the bidding only getting more competitive for someone like that as we near the deadline, it would behoove another team to jump the market on him and lay their cards on the table.

Sure, it’s going to cost an arm and a leg (maybe literally one arm and two legs of elite prospects), but the cost might be less for the first team to bowl Hoyer over with either a top prospect or package of top 100-type guys.

That’s what it’s going to take for a guy who’s basically looking like the 2016 version of Aroldis Chapman, right?