Chicago Cubs: Joc Pederson trade is a sign of big things coming

The Chicago Cubs firesale has officially begun! They have traded Joc Pederson to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Bryce Ball. It is an interesting trade from a Major League Baseball perspective for a few reasons but it is big for the Chicago Cubs organization. It is the first stone to fall in what is sure to be a big trade deadline for that organization. There are a lot more moving parts to come.

The Chicago Cubs traded Joc Pederson which means the big moves are coming next.

First off, Pederson was decent during his time with the Cubs but he certainly wasn’t good enough to keep him around. More importantly, the Cubs are so far out of it that they felt he wasn’t worth keeping at this point. He was brought in to replace Kyle Schwarber and that experiment is now looking terrible as Schwarber was an All-Star.

Bryce Ball is now listed as the Cubs’ number 29 prospect and should be on their A+ team in short order. He has a long way to go before he ever reaches Major League Baseball. You might see the Cubs take lots of chances on players like this throughout their upcoming rebuild.

Pederson signed with the Cubs in February and had 11 home runs and 39 RBIs to go with his .230 average in 73 games. He pretty much was exactly what you would expect from a player like him but they felt like it was time to let go. Getting Ball doesn’t sound like a lot but they were never going to get much more than that.

Pederson or Ball has little to do with this trade’s importance. It is all about what is next for them now that Pederson is gone. Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, and Craig Kimbrel could all be next. That would mean that they are breaking up what has been a really nice core for a variety of different reasons. In the case of Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez, they are all on expiring deals right now as the faces of the franchise.

Fans can only hope that Jed Hoyer is able to get decent returns for them. It is going to be tough. Seeing what Pederson landed them isn’t encouraging in terms of the market right now but that isn’t an accurate barometer right now. The “big three” are all significantly more impactful than Pederson so, in theory, they should return a lot more. It is going to get messy as the month goes on so it is time for people to brace themselves because the rebuild is coming.