Cubs prospect suddenly becomes trade bait after Tyler Austin signing

Jonathon Long has taken some impressive leaps since the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the ninth round of the 2023 draft, though his 2025 season was another level of development.

In 140 games with Triple-A Iowa, the 23-year-old hit .305/.404/.479 with 20 home runs and 91 RBIs, good for a 131 wRC+. He also showcased a big-league-caliber plate approach, walking 13.0% of the time while striking out in less than 20% of his plate appearances.

Long logged just nine games at third in 2025 against 115 at first base this year, so it's clear the Cubs have a strong belief as to where his major-league future will lie. And though, for a minute, it appeared that he would be the primary backup to Michael Busch at first base in 2026, the plans have changed.

Tyler Austin was signed to a one-year deal, and since it's a major-league contract, he's locked into the 40-man and 26-man active roster. His salary (roughly $1.25 million) isn't so large that it would be unreasonable for the Cubs to eat it in order to make room for Long, but he's clearly going to get the first crack at being a right-handed power hitter on Craig Counsell's bench.

With that new wrinkle in the mix, is it possible that the Cubs will trade Long following his breakout campaign?

Jonathon Long will be a popular name in Cubs trade discussions

Beyond his impressive production and youth, it's worth noting that Long will be Rule 5 eligible come next offseason.

If the Cubs don't want to have to deal with the headache of rostering him at a position in which he's eminently blocked, they could look to trade him to an offense-needy team that wants major-league-ready prospects. In terms of a blueprint, the Boston Red Sox pulled the exact same maneuver at the trade deadline when they sent Blaze Jordan to the St. Louis Cardinals for reliever Steven Matz.

Long fits that profile well, seeing how brilliant he's been by wRC+ throughout his pro career, posting marks of 148 and 169 in 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Trading him now might not be the wisest decision, though. Austin hasn't taken an MLB at-bat in over six years, and there's no guarantee that he'll be able to smoothly handle the transition back to the states at 34 years old. Keeping Long on hand, even as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, would be prudent.

And yet, the best time to strike is while the iron is hot. Assuming the Cubs aren't willing to deal Owen Caissie or Moises Ballesteros, Long may be their best hitting prospect in proximity to the big leagues.

That could make him a very popular name in trade talks, assuming he isn't already.