5 absolutely wild Chicago Cubs trade possibilities from Jim Bowden

Chicago Cubs Rumors: Yet more Cubs wind up heading to the Nationals

Seriously, if you have a favorite Cub from the last few years and aren’t sure where he’s playing now, there’s a good bet it’s Washington, D.C. Jon Lester, Kyle Schwarber and Starlin Castro all call D.C. home now – and they’re managed by Joe Maddon’s former bench coach, Dave Martinez.

The team’s historic 2019 World Series run was sparked by a second-half surge, so it’s hard for GM Mike Rizzo to ever fathom selling, regardless of his team’s place in the standings. Right now, the Nationals are four games under .500 and five games back in the NL East. As Cubs fans know full well after the last month, that’s hardly an insurmountable gap.

Bowden mentions two Cubs specifically who could fit in Washington. Of course, I don’t even need to tell you this first: Kris Bryant. Bryant makes so much sense for the Nats it’s not even funny. The other is Zach Davies who is very clearly not the guy who starts a key postseason game, but can give you some quality at the back end of a rotation.

If the two were paired up in a deal, that might sweeten the pot a bit in terms of what’s coming back to Chicago – but if I were a betting man, I’d say the Mets probably have a leg up on their division rival in the Kris Bryant sweepstakes at this point.