These 4 teams are interested in key Chicago Cubs players

4 teams eyeing Chicago Cubs ahead of the trade deadline: Toronto Blue Jays

Baez doesn’t make much sense here. The Blue Jays have a plethora of shortstop prospects and don’t need a rental at this position due to having Bo Bichette at shortstop and Marcus Semien at second – both of whom earned All-Star nods this year.

The other player they Blue Jays are most likely eyeing right now is the Cubs’ All-Star closer. With Kirby Yates out for the season, Kimbrel would be a huge boost to the Blue Jays bullpen, not only this year but next season when Yates returns as Kimbrel has another year of team control. This would give Toronto a chance to have two of the best closers at the same time which could lead to a lot of success next year if not this year as it is.

Disclaimer: The Blue Jays are 8 1/2 back in the AL East. They must feel pretty confident about their chances in the second half to even be scouting guys like Bryant or Kimbrel. The Blue Jays do, however, have five prospects in the top 100 in Nate Pearson, Austin Martin, Jordan Groshans, Simeon Woods Richardson and Gabriel Moreno. Given the fact that they are this far back in the division, it would take a pretty significant push. Which means an aggressive buy, which would bode well for the Cubs.