3 long-term catcher trade targets for the Chicago Cubs to consider to upgrade from Miguel Amaya

Los Angeles Dodgers' Dalton Rushing would be a dream addition no matter how unlikely a trade may be

The Dodgers are a juggernaut that seems hellbent on building a dynasty. They throw their weight around in the free agent market the way many Cubs' fans wish Jed Hoyer would, they're active in the trade market, and they invest in their farm system to have a seemingly endless supply of pieces waiting in the wings to replace long-in-the-tooth veterans.

Los Angeles is also known for cross-training players at various positions in order to make the pieces fit in the best way possible, which is why this potential trade target is the most unlikely even if he might be the most exciting option.

Dalton Rushing, 23, is the Dodgers' third-ranked prospect and the 31st-ranked prospect overall according to FanGraphs. While he's yet to make his big league debut he's torn up every level of the minors so far. Last season, he posted a .270/.378/.512 line with 17 homers in AA before being promoted to AAA. Once he arrived in AAA his production continued with a .273/.396/.511 line with nine homers across 37 games and 169 plate appearances.

While primarily a catcher, Rushing has logged innings at first base and left field as well and actually played the majority of his AAA games (27) in left last season, continuing the trend of the Dodgers cross-training their top prospects to help with potential fits within the roster upon their big league arrival.

So why would they consider trading a catching prospect who projects as a plus-hitter and provides positional versatility? The answer is the massive contract extension they gave to incumbent catcher Will Smith this past March. The deal is a total of 10 years for $140 million and keeps the star catcher locked up until the 2034 season.

A lot of what makes Rushing valuable is the way his bat plays at catcher, and if the position will be blocked for the better part of a decade he might become expendable as the Dodgers look to upgrade other aspects of their team. Whether or not the Cubbies can offer something that would entice LA to move him is up for debate, but Hoyer would be guilty of malpractice if he didn't check in on his availability and price.

If the Cubs were to land Rushing it would be a huge win, as he should be able to provide an upgrade to the weakest position in the starting lineup and the impact bat that they crave while adding next-to-nothing to the payroll. That would be music to penny-pinching Tom Rickett's ears.