Cubs Rumors: Ian Happ now ‘likely’ to be traded before the deadline

The next week is going to be a wild ride for Chicago Cubs fans – not just because Willson Contreras is in his final days calling the North Side home (at least for this season) – but because a plethora of his teammates are also likely to be traded, including All-Star outfielder Ian Happ.

Jeff Passan left no doubt as to where things stand with Happ in his latest piece over at ESPN – dropping this hard-hitting line that took me, personally, from thinking there was a roughly 50-50 shot Chicago traded him to, “Oh, OK – this is happening.”

“Two things have become clear in the past week as trade talks picked up: Almost everyone wants Happ, and the Cubs are likely to trade him, according to sources.”

So while rumors are already flying about reported concerns teams have about Contreras’ ability to learn an entirely new pitching staff on the fly (which is absolute nonsense, similar to the ‘concerns’ we heard last July about Kris Bryant’s ability to play third base) – no such worries exist when it comes to Happ. He’s a switch-hitting, multi-positional player who, unlike Contreras, comes with team control through the end of next year.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that there’s a lengthy list of contenders in the market for his services. I mentioned the Braves, who just lost Adam Duvall for the year, as a potential fit yesterday – but by the sounds of it, the interest goes way, way beyond just a handful of teams.

Cubs appear to have plenty of suitors for All-Star outfielder Ian Happ

Happ has finally become the hitter we’ve wanted him to be for years. He’s become a much stronger hitter from the right side and entered action Tuesday slashing .282/.367/.445 with a career-high 2.9 bWAR on the year.

Regardless of the fact he seems to have finally turned the corner, there have been no contract talks between the organization and their former first-rounder. Now, we sit and wait – with the growing belief Happ’s days with the Cubs are numbered.