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Chicago Cubs Trade Rumors: Seeking Impact At MLB Trade Deadline

By Jordan Campbell

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February 25, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer during a spring training workout at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs’ trade rumors have taken center stage for the team while Major League Baseball concludes the final day of their All-Star break. The Cubs will be buyers at the July 31 Trade Deadline and team is looking to make an impact move that increases their chances of making the post-season.

Being that the Chicago Cubs currently hold the second wild card spot in the National League and have nearly a 70-percent chance of making the post-season, it is no secret that all of the Cubs’ trade rumors have had the team acquiring talent to aid their efforts of making the post-season for the first time since the 2008 season.

The Cubs’ first impact move over the course of the next two weeks came on Thursday when the team recalled top catching prospect Kyle Schwarber after placing Miguel Montero on the 15-day disabled list with a thumb injury. The next impact move for the Cubs could very well be a trade or two before the end of July.

But as the Cubs look to make an impact deal before July 31, team president Theo Epstein is looking for the deal that works for the team as they are acting as buyers for the first time under his watch.

“It’s not a unilateral thing,” Epstein said. “You can’t make things happen at the deadline. It’s all about understanding what teams are trying to do, being opportunistic when they’re in a certain mindset, trying to match up.

“But I think it’s important when you write about the trade deadline, you look back. Those deals rarely work for buyers.”

That would be why it would seem unlikely for the Cubs to trade away any of their elite young prospects for a player that may only be with the team for three months. An example of how such a trade backfires for a buyer is when the Oakland Athletics traded away elite shortstop Addison Russell to the Cubs last season as part of a package for starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.

The Athletics went for it all and it backfired considerably as Oakland was eliminated by the Kansas City Royals in the play-in game last October. Meaning at the end of the 2014 calendar year, the one and done Athletics were left without Samardzija, Russell, and Hammel.

At the end of 2015 season, the Cubs do not want to be in the same position that the Athletics were in at the end of their 2014 season.

That is why it will be important for the Cubs to find the right deal before the end of July.

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The Cubs are casting a wide net as they look for the right deal. Cubs’ general manager Jed Hoyer told Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago that team has made a lot of phone calls.

“We’ve made a lot of phone calls,” Hoyer said. “But I don’t think things have sort of kicked off yet, as far as the trade market. I still think this will be a tighter market than usual early on, just because the American League is so jumbled up that I don’t think teams have really declared themselves yet.

“The National League’s a little bit different, but I think it will take some time to break through. Maybe after the All-Star break that will happen.”

History indicates that trade activity does certainly pick up after the All-Star break. Though, the Cubs may not wait until July 3o or 31 to make their move. In the past, Epstein and Hoyer have shown a preference for making their move early instead of waiting until the last minute.

One thing is certain, and that is that Cubs’ trade rumors will only grow louder between now and July 31.

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