The Chicago Cubs treated Willson Contreras with no respect

The Chicago Cubs went into the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline with expectations to be the biggest sellers. They did trade four relievers but they kept both Willson Contreras and Ian Happ who were some of the most popular trade chips on the block.

In the case of Willson Contreras, it is incredibly shocking. He is a free agent at the end of the season which made him a great idea to trade. The Cubs can offer him a qualifying offer for the 2023 season.

If he accepts it, he will take the 20 million dollars and play next season as a tradable player again. If he doesn’t accept it, the Cubs will get a draft pick when he signs with a new team. Either outcome is less than ideal than what would have happened if they traded him this year.

The problem is the way that they treated him ahead of the final few days before the deadline. Everyone, including Contreras himself, thought that he was going to be moved somewhere. There were a lot of hugs and tears for him and everyone on the field that loved him.

The Chicago Cubs did not handle Willson Contreras with care at the deadline.

If Jed Hoyer knew that there was a chance that he stayed, he should have addressed all of it ahead of time instead of letting Contreras go through all that. It was just a shame to see the organization treat him that way after all he has done for them and the community.

The Cubs were mostly a successful organization during Contreras’s tenure with the club. He has been there through thick and thin. Winning the World Series for the first time in 108 years was special for them and he was a big part of it.

Many other deep playoff runs came as well. He has also remained loyal through the clear rebuilding process and wanted to remain a Cubs player for life. Instead, the team played games with him and now it is unclear what will happen.

Contreras would be smart to move on because of the fact that this team is a long way away but he might want to stick around. If he does leave, however, the Cubs really missed an opportunity to add some good players.

It is wild to see how they handled this and all Cubs fans can do is hope that it doesn’t turn away potential free agents knowing how the management group might treat you during some hard times.