Chicago Cubs land Juan Soto in one of these bold trades

Trade Number 1: The Chicago Cubs include two top-3 prospects in a deal to land Juan Soto

Juan Soto could end up being a generational player. It sure looks that way right now. At just 23 years old, Soto is one of the very best players in all of baseball, and the Cubs would be extremely fortunate to be able to build their future around him. But, that also means giving up a hefty haul in order to do so.

Soto is under team control for two more years, which makes this acquisition even more worth checking into for the Cubs. To start with, the Cubs would absolutely include All Star Ian Happ to plug right into the outfield for Washington. Happ is versatile, too, being able to play the infield if need be. Again, Happ is only the starting point.

In this deal, along with Happ, the Nationals would start out by getting the Cubs’ current number two overall prospect (per MLB official prospect rankings) in shortstop Cristian Hernandez. The 18-year-old prospect started out sluggish in the ACL (Arizona Complex League) but is now up to batting .261 with three home runs, nine RBI and a couple of stolen bases in 92 AB.

The Cubs would also give up their number three overall prospect in outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who they acquired in the Javier Baez trade last year. Crow-Armstrong was once the top-ranked high school prospect in 2020 and comes with a huge ceiling for the Nationals.

Chicago would also give up their number 17 prospect in pitcher Ryan Jensen, along with number 21 prospect, catcher Pablo Aliendo, in the deal.