With the trade deadline approaching, who will the Chicago Cubs trade?
The Chicago Cubs have not had a good 2022 season up to this point. After 86 games, they sit at 34-52 and in fourth place in the National League Central division.
It would be wise for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to re-assess the roster and trade away players who don’t have a future with the team to get younger prospects in return. That will speed up the process for this rebuild and hopefully bring winning baseball back to the friendly confines sooner rather than later. Hoyer and the front office will have some big decisions to make on players that are fan favorites but when rebuilding, these are those tough decisions the front office has to make.
Here are 5 players who are most likely to be traded by the August 2nd deadline.
Willson Contreras
The biggest name on the team and arguably the entire trading block, Contreras is almost certainly going to be dealt by the deadline. The Cubs aren’t going anywhere currently and don’t seem interested in re-signing him, so a deal should happen. I could see the Astros, Mets, and Guardians as potential suitors for his services. It would look bad for the face of the franchise to be traded away, but Hoyer needs to get valuable assets for his star if he won’t re-sign him.
David Robertson
Robertson has quietly had a superb season as the Chicago Cubs closer, recording a 1.86 ERA in 26 games pitched. Unfortunately, closers on bad teams usually aren’t needed much due to a lack of team wins. With his performance this season, Robertson should have a variety of suitors looking for late-inning bullpen help to win in the playoffs. The Twins are a team that could use a closer to help win games, as they have blown a few leads late in games recently.
Mychal Givens
Another bullpen arm for the Chicago Cubs having a quality season, Givens could pay dividends for a team looking for middle relief help. His 3.45 ERA is 3rd among bullpen arms on the team. Teams in the playoff hunt such as the Angels, Phillies, and Twins would welcome his services as a solid late inning pitcher to help get the ball to the closer.
Ian Happ
The Chicago Cubs second-best position player this year, Happ has flown a bit under the radar as a result of being on a bad team even though he was named an All-Star. However, he has managed to put up his best statistical season so far and should be traded if the Chicago Cubs don’t envision him as part of their future outfield. It would be wise to sell high on his performance and hopefully get a good prospect or two in return. Happ is hitting .280 in 2022 and would be a nice left or right-handed bat for a team while also providing defensive versatility. The White Sox would be a good fit for Happ as they need both a corner outfielder and left-handed hitting.
Kyle Hendricks
Finally, Kyle Hendricks is my last Chicago Cubs player who is likely to be traded by the deadline. He was a key part of the World Series winning team in 2016 but has started to show signs of slowing down over the past couple of years. However, he can still post okay numbers and would be useful for a team in need of starting pitching. This season, he has a 4.76 ERA but has only allowed 2 runs over his last 2 starts covering 13.1 innings pitched. Teams looking for pitching will certainly have their eyes on Hendricks soon and hoping for continued success.
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