Chicago Cubs Rumors: MLB insider predicts blockbuster trade

Chicago Cubs: What to remember if Devers becomes available

First and foremost, the Cubs can ill afford to drag their feet in this situation. Suppose Devers is made available for the correct package at some point in the season. In that case, it will be immediate that other teams line up as far as the eye can see with different offers, leaving the Cubs in the dust if they approach the situation lackadaisically in any fashion.

Though it won't be as expensive as Juan Soto was this past trade deadline, any team's farm system will undoubtedly take a hit in acquiring him. Another topic of paramountcy to keep in mind is that you are confident you will be able to extend him if you are, in fact, fortunate enough to land him.

Devers has zero reasons to take any lowball offer from a club he's never been a part of. From a financial standpoint, he will be just as costly as any shortstop from this offseason. Given that he is on a contract year, It's risky to trade for him because no matter what, he might not want to extend and instead test the waters of free agency, knowing that a giant payday is on the horizon.

On the flip side of that coin, you risk not acquiring him altogether unless you trade for him. Especially with the way contracts have blown past expectations this winter, it's plausible to believe that whichever powerhouse scoops him up will swiftly sign him to a massive extension. The most challenging task for any front office will be deciphering if you can extend him and, therefore, if it's wiser to pick apart your farm to do so or if there's a better chance you can land him in free agency.

It is important to remember here that it certainly lowers what the Cubs have to give up from a prospect standpoint if they take on the remainder of Chris Sale's five-year/145.0MM deal. Sale is still owed two years with an AAV of 27.5MM, including a vesting option for 2025.

Navigating this situation may prove tricky, as he has a full no-trade clause and thus, it will take obliging from an unbeholden Sale to acquire him in the first place. However, he is no stranger to Chicago, playing in seven seasons with the White Sox from 2010-2016.