The Chicago Cubs FINALLY made the trade fans knew was coming for a long time.
Cubs’ fans assumed it would take two separate deals to trade both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, but they found their trade partner in the Oakland A’s.
The Cubs need young pitching, so you would expect the deal would surround some young arms. Right? Not exactly.
We are a quarter into the 2014 MLB season and the Chicago Cubs are already playing for the 2016 season (yes, not even 2015).
Their farm system is deep, but lacks pitching. They have bats for days (Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Jorge Soler) and have used their high draft picks on position players. I assume they will draft a starting pitcher with the #4 overall pick in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft, since they desperately need a future ace.
The Cubs currently have a handful of players that contenders would love to have down the stretch.
There is one player specifically that has been the focus of nearly ever Cubs trade rumor, Jeff Samardzija.
Which Cubs players are currently on the trading block? We will list the most likely trade candidates and any players the Cubs have their eye on in return.