Chicago Cubs not expected to trade any young major league hitters

Do not expect the Chicago Cubs to trade from their stock of impressive young major league offensive talent.

After a road series win over the weekend and a thrilling 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night, the Chicago Cubs sit at 35-34 on the season. It has not been an ideal start for the defending world champions but they only trail the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by a game and a half in the National League Central standings. The Cubs need to play better in order make a run this season but they are undoubtedly still in the thick of things.

You cannot point to one specific issue to explain the Cubs’ struggles. The starting pitching has been inconsistent, the offense never seems to come through in the clutch and their once historically elite defense is now basically average. While we all expect the Cubs to get out this season-long funk sooner, rather than later, they may need some outside help in order to do so.

Expect Theo Epstein and company to be aggressive prior to the July 31st MLB trade deadline. The Cubs know that they have a talented roster and would be wise to find the complimentary piece or two to put them over the hump. While the offense has under-performed, the most logical place to make an addition will be in the rotation.

Don’t even think about it

I could certainly see why trading any of these players would make sense, but according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, it simply is not going to happen.

"“Don’t expect the Cubs to give up any of their young major-league hitters in a trade, knowing that they could be making a major mistake if they overreact to a few bad months from any one player,” Rosenthal wrote.“The bottom line is that prospects do not always follow a linear progression, and some of the Cubs’ youngsters are remarkably inexperienced, even though all but Ian Happ played in the World Series. Kyle Schwarber has 533 regular-season plate appearances, Willson Contreras 489, Albert Almora Jr. 259 and Happ 118.”"

When it comes down to it, the core of the Chicago Cubs is in place. They are not going to overreact to a bad start or two and make a move that they would drastically regret down the line. While giving up some offensive talent for a top-notch pitcher makes sense on the surface, it is much more likely that the Cubs look to add pitching from their minor league crop of players.

If they are going to go after a big fish like Chris Archer, this likely means giving up top prospect Eloy Jimenez. Jimenez has ridiculous long-term upside, making him an attractive trade chip for a team looking to build for the future. If the Cubs go big at the trade deadline, expect Jimenez to be involved.

But maybe…

However, if Rosenthal is to be believed (he is), do not expect any subtractions from the current crop of major league players. Happ is the only player who I wonder if could get excluded from this conversation.

When the Chicago Cubs called Happ up earlier in the season, he was not expected to stay around long. However, he performed at a high level right away and is now a valuable member of the offense.

Next: Cubs connected to trio of talented starting pitchers

That being said, if guys like Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Addison Russell can get back on track (recent signs suggest that at least two of them are well on their way), and Ben Zobrist comes back healthy, I could see the Cubs looking at Happ as expendable in a trade come July.

Regardless whether Happ is included in this or not, I think we can safely put to rest any “trade Baez” or “trade Schwarber” talk. It simply is not going to happen.

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