3 shocking trades where the Chicago Cubs land a haul for Willson Contreras

Trade Number 1: The Chicago Cubs deal Willson Contreras to the Minnesota Twins

The first team that could wind up looking to deal for Contreras is the Minnesota Twins. Last offseason, they made a big splash by signing Carlos Correa, proving that they aren’t as ho-hum as some may have thought.

Now still at the top of the AL Central, they are looking to hold off Cleveland and the White Sox to take home the pennant. The Twins are currently three games ahead of the Guardians and four ahead of the Sox, so it’s getting much closer, especially from Chicago’s point of view in that division. Bottom line: they could use a guy like Contreras.

In the first of our three trade scenarios where the Cubs get a haul for their All Star catcher, the Twins give up two strong prospects from their system. The first of the two is right-handed pitcher Jordan Balazovic, who is the Twins’ number 3 prospect.

Once the top draft pick from Canada a few years ago, Balazovic was much thinner and slender. Since then, he’s added a little weight and has gotten stronger. He did have a back issue that hampered him from making his AA debut until June of last year, but he’s moved past that now. The 23-year-old has a fastball that averages around 96 MPH and, if he can work on his control a bit, he should become a very good player at the Major level.

Secondly, the Twins give up their number 6 overall prospect in shortstop Noah Miller. The 19-year-old has a couple more years until he’s MLB-ready, but he has the IQ and natural baseball instincts on both sides to become an effective player.