The Chicago Cubs were close but not close enough to winning a World Series this season. Putting together one of their best years to date, the Cubs finally saw all of that rebuilding pay off when they reached the National League Championship Series. After falling to the New York Mets, the Cubs are looking to keep the momentum moving as they prepare to chase big names on the free agent market while potentially shopping players in trades.
The Cubs are looking at multiple moves including adding another pitching ace to the rotation. The Cubs have been linked to both Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto this offseason with Jordan Zimmermann and David Price off the market officially. General manager Jed Hoyer confirmed that the Cubs were looking to make a few big moves, but smaller deals could come first.
"Over the next two weeks, there will be a lot of activity," Hoyer said on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. "I expect as the market picks up, we'll be part of that market. Those are the philosophical questions we've all been having over the last couple of months. There's good with both. Elite players can change a team."
Greinke and Cueto certainly meet the description of elite. Does Shelby Miller? According to the Chicago Sun-Times the Cubs have explored a trade for the Atlanta Braves pitcher as they appear willing to offer up Javier Baez or Jorge Soler in a potential deal. They have also looked at shopping Starlin Castro elsewhere which could end the trade of Baez. According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees and Cubs have discussed a swap of Castro and Brett Gradner, but the discussions have not progressed since the original report.
Instead of getting Gardner for the outfield, could the Cubs chase Jason Heyward instead? The outfielder is officially a free agent this offseason and a number of teams are eyeing him as an option including the Cubs. According to Jesse Rodgers of ESPN.com, the Cubs will likely either have to shift their focus to a high-priced pitcher or Heyward, but getting both could be tough. Team president Theo Epstein noted that signing one big free agent will be tough while signing two might be impossible. Signing two players to $100 million contracts might blow the bank for the Cubs, so the team cannot get Heyward and Greinke while deals for players like Jake Arrieta loom in the distance. That is where trades will come into play. The Cubs have proven they can handle being creative before and this offseason should be no different.
