3 Cubs trade candidates if the 2026 season goes off the rails in the first half

There's no reason to believe the Chicago Cubs' hype train will derail in the first half of the 2026 season — most projection systems, including FanGraphs' playoff odds, suggest the North Siders are the resounding favorites in the NL Central for the upcoming season.

Still, stranger things have happened in baseball, and it'd be foolish not to at least entertain the chance of this all going belly up. In that event, the front office would be wise to make like it's 2021 and hold yet another painful trade deadline fire sale.

Luckily, the Cubs have built a roster conducive to such an excercise. They have a ridiculous amount of talented players that have just one year remaining on their respective contracts, which could make them a rental factory at the trade deadline if everything goes wrong.

3 Cubs player who will hit trade block if Chicago decides to sell

Carson Kelly

Mid-season catcher trades are actually quite rare, since it takes a lot of work for a backstop to learn a new pitching staff and an organization's run prevention program. Remember when the Cubs shockingly held onto Willson Contreras at the trade deadline a few years ago because a fair deal never materialized?

Still, it happens from time to time (see: Freddy Fermin last year) as playoff-bound teams look to upgrade at a notoriously volatile position. Kelly, like the other players on this list, is a pending free agent after 2026 (assuming his mutual option is declined). That kind of rental status will make him cheaper for another team to acquire, and therefore less risky to bring in with just a few months remaining in the regular season.

An excellent blocker who rarely allows stolen bases, Kelly would be an instant upgrade for many teams behind the plate, even after he turns 32 in July. If he can keep up his offensive breakout from last year — he posted a 115 wRC+ and .179 ISO — he could be one of the prizes of the deadline.

Nico Hoerner

Might as well get the most obvious answer to this question out of the way. Perhaps the most-frequently discussed player on the trade block now that Brendan Donovan has been shipped out of St. Louis, it looks like a virtual certainty that the Cubs will stroll into Opening Day with Hoerner as their second baseman.

In the event of a lost season, though, his name will pop right back up in the rumor mill. He's a stolen base king with superlative defense to match, plus the 28-year-old was a Silver Slugger finalist last year after posting a career-high 109 wRC+. As a rental with an affordable $12 million salary, at least half the league would come calling about the All-Star second baseman.

Unless the Cubs were to do the right thing and sign Hoerner to an extension before that point ever comes.

Jameson Taillon

As aforementioned, there are a lot of rental candidates to pick from, including Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Matthew Boyd. And while all of those players would fetch a pretty penny in a trade, none is as obvious of a trade candidate as Jameson Taillon.

The 34-year-old right-hander rediscovered his best form in the 2025 postseason, pitching to a 1.76 FIP over two starts behind his new-and-improved kick change. Consider his spot on this list a bet that he'll continue to dominate left-handed batters with that pitch throughout the first half of 2026.

But even if he doesn't, a veteran pitcher who is largely durable and is excellent at limiting walks will surely appeal to a few contenders come July.