Cubs: Now is the perfect time to trade Willson Contreras

Free agency is off to a better start than a year ago and the signing of Yasmani Grandal means Willson Contreras’ value will never be higher for the Cubs.

Unlike last offseason in which the free agent class was highlighted by both Manny Machado and Bryce Harper – with both players signing a week apart at the end of February – Cubs fans have already seen a preview of who will be wearing new uniforms next year. Among those is Yasmani Grandal, who agreed to a four-year, $73 million deal with the White Sox on Thursday. Grandal, 31, was arguably the most coveted free agent catcher on the market and now that he’s signed, many teams are left searching for answers.

The rumors have already been swirling about the Cubs potentially parting with one of their core players in order to reshape their broken roster that once brought home a World Series title in 2016, but now seems like ages ago. Players that are most likely going to be part of trade discussions this offseason include Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, and Willson Conteras – some players generating more trade talk than others, of course.

Contreras, 27, has already been linked to several rumors indicating that “many teams believe he will be available this offseason”. Prior to Thursday, it seemed like an unimaginable concept for the Cubs to trade away their All-Star backstop who has been critical with the bat and behind the plate. However, with Grandal now locked up for at least four years, Contreras’ trade value will never be higher.

He is still in the prime of his career and could garner a decent haul of prospects – or top prospect and major league pitcher – from several interested teams including (but not limited to): Brewers, Reds, Rays, Astros, Rangers, and Angels. The latter could actually make a lot of sense given that new Angels manager, Joe Maddon, is familiar with Contreras and the position is certainly a need.

The Atlanta Braves have already taken a proactive approach, adding to their bullpen both Will Smith and Chris Martin – and the next domino has fallen on the south side of town. I imagine a lot of potential trades will be discussed at the annual MLB owners’ meeting this weekend with something that has merit developing in the coming weeks. The Cubs likely won’t be signing a free agent catcher if they trade Contreras but could try to fill the gap with Victor Caratini for the time being, until top prospect, Miguel Amaya is ready.

Amaya, 20, reminds me a little bit of Grandal in that he has shown the pop in his bat, despite the less than stellar average, and takes a ton of walks. But he (Amaya) is a much better defensive catcher than Grandal. He’ll likely have at least one more season in the minors to keep developing his bat.