Who would Chicago Cubs trade for Manny Machado?

Albert Almora

Aside from trading Baez, I feel like this move would have the potential to make Chicago Cubs fans the angriest.

Finally starting to get more playing time, Almora has shown signs of being a real everyday player at the plate. As of today, he is hitting .295/.355/.779 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Specifically, he has performed very well at the top of the lineup, hitting .313/.368/.743 from the leadoff spot.

And we all knew about Almora’s glove in the outfield. That requires no further explanation.

Why even think about trading that kind of production?

Well, perhaps that’s exactly the point. Maybe the Cubs could see this as the perfect time to strike, with his trade value is as high as ever.

Obviously, I would think of that as crazy, as he’s certainly playing like an everyday center fielder for this team. Also, though Joe Maddon prefers playing Almora against left-handers, whom he kills (.324/.390/.931), he’s been far from terrible against righties (.284/.338/.702).

But for all this time, the Cubs have clearly favored the switch-hitting Ian Happ, the power bat of Kyle Schwarber and even Jason Heyward over starting Almora. Heyward has likely a salary/experience move, but playing Happ and Schwarber are likely related directly to matchups with right-handers and the fact that they have more power than Almora, who doesn’t have many home runs.

For that reason, maybe they view him as being more a super-sub than a true everyday starter. That’s just a guess, of course.

Either way, one can’t help feeling a bit frustrated at the thought that the Chicago Cubs might make such a move on those grounds, especially with Almora playing as well as he has been. We’ll see what the Cubs’ plans for him are.