3 trade ideas with the Guardians that could make the Chicago Cubs Contenders

Trade Number Three

The Chicago Cubs Receive RHP Shane Bieber, RHP Emmanuel Clase and 3B Jose Ramirez

The Cleveland Guardians Receive LHP Jordan Wicks, INF Christopher Morel, OF Owen Caissie, OF Kevin Alcantara

Let’s get wild. This deal has the Cubs receiving a starting pitcher who has won a Cy Young Award, a closer who has led the league in saves twice before his 25th birthday, and a five-time All-Star who could solve their third base problem. In return, they’d be giving up two of their top six prospects and three of their top nine as well as a major league piece that is already mashing pitching at the highest level.

Now that we’ve got both fanbases frustrated let’s dive into what the Cubs would be getting back aside from Bieber and Clase who we’ve already discussed. Ramirez put up a 5.1 WAR according to Baseball Reference last season while batting .282/.356/.475 with 28 stolen bases and 24 homers on his way to his fifth All-Star appearance. The fact that he hates the White Sox as much as the North Siders do doesn’t hurt either. He’d be under team control through 2028 on what amounts to a five-year $105 million dollar deal. 

On top of the aforementioned Jordan Wicks and Christopher Morel, the Cubs would also include their 4th (Alcantara) and 6th (Caissie) best prospects in return for this haul from the Guardians. Both Caissie and Alcantara will begin the season in the minors, with Caissie likely starting at AAA and Alcantara likely starting at AA but both have a very real possibility of being on a major league squad by the end of the 2024 season. 

Owen Caissie obliterates baseballs. In our write-up on him we said that even with his future position being a little uncertain, he has the kind of power that you dream of. Last year he hit .289/.399/.519 with 55 extra base hits. 

Kevin Alcantara has a professional ability to bounce back. This is what we said about him in our write up:

"In April he hit .256/.302/.449. In May it got worse and he hit .200/.216/.282. He could have fallen apart but he didn’t and in June he picked it up and hit .306/.379/.518 and followed it with a scorching July where he hit .405/.479/.667."

Cubbies Crib

Why the Guardians would say no:

This may honestly be more reasonable than the previous deal. When the Guardians decide to deal Jose Ramirez, the face of their franchise that they chose to build around Francisco Lindor, they are willing to trade anyone. However, the Guardians find themselves in a very winnable AL Central and even though they’d be getting legitimate star potential in return, they’d be giving up three guys who have already proven that they are stars at the highest level and that’s not a good look. 

Why the Cubs would say no:

The Cubs have finally rebuilt their farm system to a level that has many in the game in awe. They have depth and they have star power. Even though this deal wouldn’t have them giving up any of their top three prospects, the idea of leveraging the future by dealing three of their top nine prospects as well as a cost-controlled power hitter will be too high of a price tag for the Cubs to consider.

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